Party's Over
by StrawberryPajamas
Summary: "My name is Anastasia Steele, I'm an editorial assistant at Seattle Independent Publishing, and I think my boss is trying to frame you for murder." The untimely death of a famous Seattle socialite leads Ana down a path she never anticipated: solving a murder while keeping an innocent man out of prison. But will her plan prove to be too dangerous? AU
1. Arrest

**Summary: "My name is Anastasia Steele, I'm an editorial assistant at Seattle Independent Publishing, and I think my boss is trying to frame you for murder." The untimely death of a famous Seattle socialite leads Ana down a path she never anticipated: solving a murder while keeping an innocent man out of prison. But will her plan prove to be too dangerous? AU**

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**Party's Over**

**By Strawberry Pajamas**

Chapter 1: Arrest

Saturday, 10:42 pm

_Pushing Olaplex products might have been a mistake… Aveda deep conditioner has been selling out lately, perhaps because it's more affordable? In that case, we'd need to sell more Morroccan oil to make up the difference… _

Elena tapped an acrylic fingernail on her laptop's trackpad as she stared at the screen, frowning. The Excel spreadsheet of Esclava's sales in the past quarter glowed brightly on her screen, as if demanding she stared directly at it. Profits from product sales were slim this quarter, even worse than the last quarter, and Elena was beginning to worry she'd have to make some serious cuts in the next few months if she wanted to make money. She'd tried to get her employees to push the more expensive products, but maybe it would be better to discontinue some lower-selling ones? If none of that worked, she could always fire some of her hairstylists or take out another business loan.

_Can't rely on other people's money forever._

With a tired sigh, Elena pulled herself up from the dining table and walked into her open-concept kitchen, heading for the wine rack. Picking out a decent-looking red, she uncorked it and poured herself a generous glass. She brought it up to her lips and took a long sip… the taste was soothing, and it helped take the edge off.

Elena walked over to the kitchen island and set her glass down. She pressed her hands on the countertop and gazed out the window at the opposite side of the dining room, letting out a sigh. Usually the money she couldn't make in the salon she would make up for by finding Christian a new submissive… young attractive brunettes would pay Elena top dollar for the chance of being dominated by Christian Grey. But the new girl who just started subbing for him was sent by somebody else, so Elena knew she couldn't expect her next windfall to happen anytime soon.

Lost in her thoughts, Elena didn't immediately hear the quiet thumping sound coming from the front hallway. She suddenly blinked and looked over to where the sound came from, frowning - it was far too late at night for visitors. Maybe it was just a squirrel or something scrabbling up her door frame? She picked up her glass of wine and began walking across the living room toward the front hallway, making sure her robe was tied securely around her body as she did so.

She suddenly heard a creak, and someone stepped out of the hallway in front of her. Elena gasped in surprise, freezing so suddenly that half her wine sloshed out of her glass and onto the floor.

"Oh my God, you scared me!" Elena said, pressing a palm to her chest while glaring at the other person. "Why the hell are you sneaking into my house so late at night without knocking?"

There was no response from the other person, and they took another step toward Elena, staring directly at her in a very unsettling manner. Elena realized something was very wrong here, and she took a tentative step back, her eyes locked on the other person in fear and trepidation.

"Wh-what are you doing?" she asked, her voice suddenly quavering. "This isn't funny… leave or I'm calling the police."

This didn't seem to deter the other person as they began to move toward Elena, their movements quick and aggressive. She stumbled backwards in fear, and saw the silver flash of a blade as it came toward her in the blink of an eye.

The sound of rushing water had filled her ears as the blade entered her multiple times, the excruciating pain barely registering over the shock of what was happening. She didn't even have time to scream, and her mind went blank as she collapsed… the wineglass slipped from her hand before crashing to the floor, glass shattering everywhere and red wine splattering across the hardwood.

The man simply stared down at her, clutching the knife in his hand as blood dripped from its tip. Robotically, he wiped the blade off with the hem of his shirt before turning and walking back out the front door as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Elena Lincoln lay stone dead on the floor of her living room, her eyes open and unseeing. Blood seeped from her body and pooled around her, mixing with the spilled wine and the shards of her broken wineglass.

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_24 hours later_

Sunday 10:21 pm

Christian walked downstairs into the great room of Escala, the whole place as quiet as it normally was on Sunday evenings. He still wore his Dom jeans from his playroom session earlier, but he had thrown on a white t-shirt to cover up his chest; he planned to get some work done in his study now that his sub had gone back home for the week, but first he was going to get a drink.

Last night was his first session with Elizabeth, his new submissive, and she definitely didn't disappoint. That was usually the case with new subs, though… the thrill of fucking and dominating someone new made him eager to give all he had, and Elizabeth was clearly ready and willing to receive all of his attentions.

_I think this will surely be a mutually beneficial arrangement._

Christian poured himself a finger of scotch before walking over to his floor-to-ceiling windows and gazing out over the night sky, illuminated by the buildings of Seattle. He took a small sip, grimacing slightly as the alcohol burned his throat on the way down. The night felt peaceful and quiet, and he soaked up the silence as he closed his eyes.

_Ding ding ding ding ding_

Christian opened his eyes with a frown and turned toward the elevators, noticing a red light he had never seen before blinking over the doors while making a dinging sound. _What the hell?_

After a moment, a thump sounded as Taylor hurried in from around the corner, wearing flannel pajama pants and a navy blue Marines t-shirt. He looked alarmed.

"Taylor, what's going on?" Christian asked, gazing at the blinking light.

"Someone's coming up to the penthouse," Taylor said, staring at the elevators. "The doorman must've overrode the code to allow someone to come up without our permission. But who…?"

He was interrupted by the elevator doors sliding open, and Christian's heart began thumping wildly. Who the hell was coming at this hour?

In a moment, five or six police officers swarmed into the penthouse, all of them in full cop gear - hats, jackets, vests, walkie-talkies, and even a few guns. Christian felt too stunned to even react, and he could only stare in shock as they all rushed into the great room.

"Seattle PD! Hands in the air!" a red-haired bearded cop barked as he approached Christian, gun cocked. Christian, one hand still clutching the glass of scotch, instinctively raised both of his hands in a surrender position. "Are you Christian Grey?"

"Yeah," Christian said immediately, his heart pounding. "What the hell's going on?"

Red-haired cop looked at the cop next to him and jerked his head toward Christian. The guy moved forward with a pair of handcuffs, and Christian felt his blood run cold.

"Hey!" Taylor shouted, moving forward, and several cops shouted at him to stay back. He halted in his tracks. "Do you guys have a warrant? You can't come barging in here like this!"

"Who are you?" the red-haired cop snapped at Taylor.

"I'm his personal security officer," Taylor snapped back. "Tell us what the hell's going on! It's against the law to come in here without a warrant."

"This isn't a search and seizure," the cop explained. "Although we do intend to obtain a warrant within the next 24 hours. Mr. Grey is being arrested."

Christian felt pale and dizzy. "Wait - _arrested_? I didn't do anything!"

"Your DNA and fingerprints were discovered at the site of a recent murder," the red-haired cop said to him. "You're coming with us to the station to answer a few questions."

Christian felt like he couldn't breathe as the cop with the handcuffs moved forward and grasped his wrist. Christian instinctively jerked it back. "Wait, what?! Who the fuck was murdered?"

"The body of Elena Lincoln was discovered inside her home earlier today with multiple stab wounds," the red-haired cop explained. "We believe she had been killed less than 24 hours ago."

Christian felt numb… Elena was dead? He tried to step away from the police officers, but several of them moved forward to grab both his arms and pin them down. Christian wasn't used to so many people touching him all at once, and he kept instinctively trying to pull away. They forced him to put his hands behind his back; the glass of scotch fell from his hand and it shattered on the marble floor by their feet. In a daze, he felt the cool metal of handcuffs locking around his wrists.

"Mr. Christian Grey, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you."

TO BE CONTINUED

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**A/N: Hope you liked this first chapter! I know this is a small departure from what I normally write, but I thought I would try something new :) **

**Please review!**


	2. Interrogation

**A/N: Thank you all for your love and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter :)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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**Chapter 2: Interrogation**

This was not at all how Christian thought he was going to be spending his Sunday evening.

He had been sitting alone in this interrogation room for nearly two hours now, nothing but an empty table and a one-way glass window to keep him company. He was still in the handcuffs they put him in earlier, but now they were bolted to the tabletop. It was completely unnecessary since the heavy wooden door with a bullet-proof glass window leading out to the hallway was clearly locked.

No one had given Christian any answers yet, and as he sat in his chair staring at the wall, he silently seethed with anger… the longer he sat, the angrier he got. Whatever the hell was happening he knew he had nothing to do with it, and yet the police insisted on treating him like a common criminal. Elena's unfortunate death notwithstanding, there could be a million reasons why his DNA was found in her home. He'd been over a few weeks ago to drop off some documents for Esclava, and surely Elena had dozens of other people coming in and out of her home all times of the day and night. Why did he, Christian, stand out as the main suspect?

_This is absolute bullshit. This precinct ought to know I have connections to the mayor… _

They had taken his cell phone away, so he had no means of communicating with anyone, but Christian hoped Taylor had the foresight to call up Carrick and tell him what was going on. Though Christian knew he needed his father for legal representation, Carrick and Grace likely wanted to know what had happened to Elena in addition to their son being arrested in connection with her death.

Christian was well aware he still had on his Dom jeans and white t-shirt from earlier, and while he had never wanted to be seen out in public wearing these clothes, he supposed he didn't have much of a choice at the moment. The small analog clock above the door hit 12:30 AM, and Christian's anger and frustration grew. He hated not knowing what was happening, especially when there was nothing he could do about it. Not being in control of a situation frustrated him almost as much as being arrested under false pretenses did.

_When the hell am I going to get some goddamn answers?_

Finally… the door opened, and a tall, broad-shouldered man in a white button-down shirt stepped inside carrying a thick file folder. Christian couldn't tell if this was one of the cops who had arrested him at Escala, but he definitely looked the part of a police officer with his thick suspenders and a gun holster, as well as a severe buzzcut similar to Taylor's. He didn't look up from the folder he was reading as he walked into the room, kicking the door shut behind him.

"About time," Christian snapped, unable to help himself. "Can I please get some answers as to what the hell is going on? Why was I arrested?"

The man glanced up, wearing an impassive expression. "So sorry for the delay, Mr. Grey," he said, not sounding sorry at all. "My name is Detective Broderick, and I just want to ask you a few questions as to where you were Saturday night."

"You mean was I out murdering Elena Lincoln?" Christian bit out sarcastically. "The answer to that is no. Can I leave now?"

"Not quite yet," Detective Broderick said, taking the seat opposite Christian at the table. "I just want to ask a few questions."

"I'm not saying anything to you until my lawyer gets here," Christian snapped angrily. Broderick raised an eyebrow.

"I just want to know about your relationship with the victim, Mr. Grey. Surely you don't need your lawyer for that?"

Broderick leaned back in his chair while maintaining eye contact - a show of dominance and authority Christian had utilized many times in the boardroom. Christian really didn't want to have to play this game, but whatever the hell got him out of here faster, the better off he'd be.

He scowled. "If you must know, Elena was my business partner and a family friend. That's it."

"And from my file on her, it appears as if you lent her the money to start up her salon Esclava," Broderick stated, flipping through the file in front of him.

"Yes," Christian said shortly. "She lent me money to help start up my own business, so I felt obligated to return the favor."

Broderick gave Christian an insincere smile. "Friends helping out friends… how nice."

Christian resisted rolling his eyes, though his heart pounded in his ribcage. A part of him was worried Broderick might know about his past relationship with Elena, but knew he shouldn't get ahead of himself. "Are we done then?"

"Not quite," Broderick reached into the file folder and pulled out a small sealed clear baggie, and inside was a normal-looking bronze house key. He placed the bagged key on the table and slid it over to Christian. "Does this look familiar to you?"

Christian frowned down at the key. "No. Should it?"

"It was the key we found at the scene of the crime," Broderick explained. "The perpetrator used it to get into Elena's home undetected, which leads us to believe her murder was premeditated. It has your fingerprints on it."

Christian reared back slightly as he looked back up at the detective. "Are you sure?"

Broderick gave him a cold look. "Quite sure, Mr. Grey. We've had your fingerprints on file here at the Seattle PD since you were a teenager… quite the troublemaker you were back then, weren't you?"

Christian ignored that remark. "Well I don't know how accurate your records can be because those fingerprints can't be mine."

"Did Elena give you a spare key to her house?"

Christian blinked. "Well yeah, she did… but that was years ago, and she just did it as a courtesy. Hell, I forgot I even had it, I'd never actually used it."

"Until last night," Broderick accused, glaring at Christian. "Can you confirm that that is your spare key to Elena's house, Mr. Grey?"

Christian was starting to get seriously annoyed. "I don't know, okay? Frankly, it looks like every other house key I've ever seen in my life. How does this prove I murdered Elena?"

"Can you account for your whereabouts on Saturday night, at around 10:30 pm?" Broderick suddenly asked, looking back down at his file.

Frustrated and confused, Christian glared at Broderick for a moment before answering: "Yes. I was at home Saturday night with a… friend. Elizabeth Daniels. She can account for my whereabouts that night."

"Ah yes… Elizabeth Daniels," Broderick said, nodding. "We've heard all about her. Your security guy Taylor told us the same thing, that you were with her at your home in Escala all weekend."

Christian said nothing, not wanting to expound upon his relationship with her.

"Mr. Taylor was so kind as to give us a copy of the background check he ran on her," Broderick continued. "Am I right in assuming you do this for all your '_friends_', Mr. Grey?"

The clear inflection in his voice made Christian clench his jaw in annoyance. "I have to be careful with whom I associate myself with," he said in a voice of forced calm. "I have my team run background checks on pretty much everyone I come in contact with."

"I see," Broderick said, taking a packet of papers from the file and setting it down on the table so it faced Christian. "This is a copy of the background check Mr. Taylor gave us of Ms. Elizabeth Daniels."

Christian glanced at the packet - it looked like the standard background check he had Taylor and Welch run on people, complete with Elizabeth's profile picture at the top. "Yeah. So?"

Broderick, his eyes still on Christian, took something else out of the file folder and set it beside the first packet. "This is the file the Seattle PD already has on Ms. Daniels."

Christian looked at the second packet. It was very similar to his own background check on Elizabeth, along with her profile picture at the top, but the biggest difference was the bold red word stamped at the top of the file in all caps:

_DECEASED_

Christian could only stare at the word for a few seconds, unable to comprehend what he was seeing. He glanced at the rest of the file, which said Elizabeth Daniels had been deceased for about 3 years now, and that she died in a car accident… how was that possible? His eyes flicked up to the picture of the woman to make sure it really was the same Elizabeth Daniels, and though they were both different pictures, it was definitely the same woman.

"They're both Elizabeth Daniels, Mr. Grey," Broderick said, as if he could read Christian's thoughts. "Their height, their weight, their appearance… but the information our precinct has on Ms. Daniels is a bit different from the information you have. Why do you think that is?"

"I have no idea," Christian insisted, looking up at Broderick. For all Broderick knew, Christian's alibi was nothing more than a phantom, and Christian knew he had to convince him. "Look, your information must be wrong or something because I was with Elizabeth Daniels last night. I'm not lying about that."

"Why should I believe you?" Broderick shot back. "For all I know, you just made up an alibi of this random dead woman to cover up the fact that you were out murdering Elena Lincoln Saturday night!"

"That's ridiculous," Christian snapped. "And completely untrue! I was with Elizabeth Daniels last night - look at my background check of her, you can find her contact information."

Still glaring at Christian, Broderick wordlessly pulled out his cell phone and set it face-up on the table. He swiped the screen and went onto the dial pad before typing in a phone number; Christian realized he was calling the number listed on Elizabeth's background check.

Broderick hit speakerphone, and the two listened. A moment later, a three-note tone sounded, and a robotic female voice answered:

"…_I'm sorry, but the number you have dialed is no longer in service…"_

Broderick ended the call, looking back up at Christian, who sat frozen in his seat and staring at the phone. "Do you think I should try again?" Broderick asked sarcastically.

Christian couldn't say anything for a moment. None of this made sense… what the hell was going on with Elizabeth? Something weird was going on, or maybe he was just going crazy… I mean, he had just seen Elizabeth this weekend!

"CCTV," Christian suddenly said, looking back up at Broderick, who was still glaring at him. "We have security cameras in the main rooms of my home at Escala. They'll prove that Elizabeth was with me all weekend."

Broderick reached into the file folder once again and pulled out a disc encased in a white paper sleeve. He held it up for Christian to see. "That's actually why you were waiting so long in here… your guy Taylor went and got a copy of the security footage from your home. Shall we watch it together?"

Without waiting for a response, Broderick got up from his seat and walked over to an old TV and DVD player sitting on a cart in the corner. He slid the DVD into the player, and turned on the TV with the remote. Christian simply watched him, an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach… something very strange was going on here, and he couldn't fight the sense of dread he felt when the black-and-white security feed of Escala's great room appeared on the screen.

"This feed starts at 12:37 PM on Friday," Broderick said, pointing at the time stamp on the lower right-hand corner. "Let's watch, shall we?"

He set down the remote and stood back with his arms crossed, watching the TV. Christian was confused, but he watched the screen as well - nothing looked out of the ordinary, but neither he nor Elizabeth were at Escala at this point. Why wasn't Broderick fast-forwarding through this part? Only Gail was home, walking around the great room cleaning and tidying in her usual meticulous way. After a minute or so, Gail began walking across the great room toward the kitchen, but when she was halfway there, the screen suddenly blinked and she was gone.

Christian frowned. "What just happened?"

"Oh, you didn't see that?" Broderick asked, turning to look at Christian. "Let's rewind."

He picked up the remote and rewound the footage a few seconds before hitting play again. Once again, Gail walked across the great room before the whole screen blinked and she disappeared; Christian now realized that the timestamp read 1:42 PM.

"Do you see the time?" Broderick asked, pointing at the lower right-hand side of the screen. "And do you see the date?"

Christian looked at the date, and realized with shock that it was no longer Friday's date, but rather Sunday's. Two entire days were missing from his security feed.

_What the fuck…? _

"Forty-nine hours," Broderick stated, pausing the video and turning to face Christian. "Forty-nine hours of your security footage, Mr. Grey… completely vanished. How do you think that happened? Was it just a glitch in your computer system, would you say? Very convenient that the footage from Saturday evening has just magically disappeared…"

Christian's heart was pounding in his ribcage, and he suddenly felt dizzy. All these strange things that were happening… his fingerprints being found at the scene of Elena's murder, Elizabeth's file being altered, and now his security feed being tampered with… someone was doing all this deliberately. Was it Elizabeth? Or was it someone else working with her? He didn't know, but whoever they were, these people were actually trying to send him to prison.

An intense fear suddenly settled over Christian when he realized they might actually succeed.

"Something's not right," Christian muttered, finally tearing his eyes away from the screen to look at Broderick. "None of this makes sense. Someone's framing me… please, you have to believe me."

"Right," Broderick stated, his voice sarcastic. "Someone's framing you… isn't that convenient?"

"It's true! I never laid a hand on Elena," Christian insisted. "Why on earth would I want to murder my friend?"

"Whatever the reason is, we'll find it out," Broderick said, leaning forward so his hands were splayed out on the table, his eyes boring into Christian's. "Everything in the dark eventually comes out into the light, Mr. Grey."

Christian's blood ran cold when he realized that all the secrets he had been keeping from the world were now likely going to become public, in addition to him being a suspect for intentional homicide. What on earth could he do to prove he hadn't killed Elena? And how could he prove Elizabeth Daniels actually existed? He had nothing, and the helplessness he felt was almost overwhelming.

"Mr. Grey?" Broderick asked, raising his eyebrows in expectation. "Anything else you want to say?"

Christian stared into Broderick's eyes for a moment before finally looking away. "I'm not saying anything else until my lawyer gets here," he said in a subdued voice.

"I expected as much," Broderick stated, moving over to pick up his file folder. Without another word, he finished gathering up all his things and headed out the door, closing it with a resounding thud.

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**A/N: Uh oh… things don't look good for Christian. What's going to happen now?**

**Please review! Next chapter, we'll meet Anastasia and learn the part she'll play in all of this.**


	3. Media

**A/N: Thank you all for your love and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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**Chapter 3: Media**

**~One Week Later~**

"So one Everything bagel, a coffee with sugar no cream, and an Earl Grey tea… that'll be $12.59."

Ana dug into her purse for her wallet before extricating a twenty and handing it over to the girl behind the counter. She rang her up while Ana picked up the paper bag and the to-go tray, balancing it all in one hand.

"There you go, ma'am," the girl smiled as she handed the change back to Ana. "Have a good day."

"Thanks. You too," Ana smiled before turning and heading out of the bagel shop, a bell tinkling as she stepped out the door.

It was a beautiful sunny Thursday morning in Seattle, and the streets were full of commuters heading to work for the day. Ana was in a great mood this morning, so much so that she didn't even mind when her boss texted her to pick him up a bagel and coffee before she came to work that day. His favorite bagel shop was only a few blocks away from Seattle Independent Publishing, which was where she worked, so Ana decided to just take an Uber to the bagel shop and walk the rest of the way to the office, enjoying the beautiful weather today.

Part of Ana's good mood today was due to the fact that her roommate Kate recently took her out clothes shopping. Ana was currently wearing a cute blue and white patterned sundress with a thin silver headband in her long chestnut hair. Even though she spent a little more than she usually would on new clothes, she knew she looked good today and felt it was worth the extra money.

Ana turned a corner and passed by an electronics shop, where a large display window had multiple flat-screen TVs simultaneously playing the Seattle morning news:

"…_and in recent news, the homicide of local salon owner and entrepreneur Elena Lincoln last week is still under investigation by the Seattle Police Department," _the anchorwoman spoke to the camera from her desk as a picture of Elena Lincoln appeared on her right side. "_Evidence has been leaked in recent days that Mr. Christian Grey, owner and CEO of Grey Enterprise Holdings, is connected to Mrs. Lincoln's death. Mr. Grey has put out a public statement this morning denying his connection to the case, expressing his sorrow with her passing while maintaining his own innocence. When asked by reporters, Mr. Grey gave no further comment."_

Ana stood at the window watching the news segment for a few moments before continuing her walk toward SIP. The story of that murdered Lincoln woman had dominated the news cycle for the past week or so: a rich socialite woman mysteriously gets murdered in her own home without anything being stolen, and the main suspect is the CEO of some international billion-dollar mergers & acquisitions company. The public interest of this whole story was incredibly high, with most people believing Christian Grey was guilty due to the fact he was rich and powerful, therefore he must be corrupt enough to commit a murder. Ana had to admit the whole story was very intriguing… it sounded like something out of a murder-mystery novel.

Ana finally made it to Seattle Independent Publishing, which was a wide one-story building that took up the entire corner of the block. She pushed her way through the glass front doors into the lobby, where Claire was sitting at her large receptionist desk.

"'Morning Ana," Claire smiled at Ana as she approached. "Ooh I love your dress."

"Thanks," Ana smiled widely.

"Jack literally just came by a minute ago asking if you were here yet," Claire said, nodding toward the doors leading to the main office. Ana rolled her eyes.

"It's not even 9 o'clock yet. He can relax," she said spitefully. "Any messages I need to relay?"

"Nope. But Jack did mention he's going to be out of the office most of the day today," Claire grinned, and both women giggled.

"Nice. Do you and Hannah want to go out to _Chino's_ with me for lunch today?" Ana asked.

"Let's do it."

The two women chatted for another minute or so, making their lunch plans, before Ana headed into the main part of the office. Most people had arrived for the day at this point, and they were all getting settled in at their desks as Ana made her way to the back corner office where her boss Jack was waiting.

Jack Hyde was the acquisitions editor at SIP, and Ana was his assistant. She had gotten this job right after college and she'd been working here for almost a year now, but her dream was to one day have Jack's job. It wasn't that working for him was the worst thing in the world, but Ana mostly enjoyed her job because of Claire and Hannah and all of her other coworkers whom she got along with. Jack just kind of did his own thing, and while most of the time he was an okay boss, occasionally, if he was having a bad day, he would go ballistic and scream at everyone around him at the top of his lungs. Ana dreaded his bad moods, and she sincerely hoped today wasn't going to be one of those days.

"There you are," Jack now said, glancing up at Ana coming into his office. He was standing behind his desk while sorting through some documents. "Glad you got my text this morning."

"Here's your Everything bagel and your coffee, sugar no cream," Ana rattled off, setting the paper bag and coffee tray on his desk. She picked up the second cup in the tray, which was her tea.

"I hope you remembered to save the receipt," Jack said, picking up his coffee and removing the lid, taking a small sip of the hot drink. "There's been some changes to my schedule today, so I'm going to be out of the office most of the day. Can you monitor my emails and call me if there's an emergency?"

"Of course,' Ana said. "Anything else?"

"Nope, that should be it," Jack said. He set down his coffee and reached into the paper bag, pulling out the bagel. "This isn't toasted," he frowned.

Ana hesitated, silently praying he wouldn't start yelling at her, before giving him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, they must have forgotten. I can toast it for you in the kitchen if you want."

"No, it's fine," Jack said petulantly, putting the bagel back into the bag. "Just get to work, I need to head out soon anyway."

Ana nodded before turning and walking out of the office to where her desk was, letting out a silent sigh of relief. Working as Jack's assistant was pretty hit or miss, but she knew she would enjoy work today since Jack wasn't going to be around at all. Today's workload would likely be light or even nonexistent as a result, and she could visit with her friends at their desks without feeling guilty about it.

Fighting back a smile, Ana sat down at her desk and booted up her computer.

* * *

Just as Ana predicted, today was going very slow. She monitored Jack's emails as he'd asked her, but nothing serious came up, so Ana spent her day just helping Hannah edit a new manuscript. The two of them and Claire all went out to lunch together at noon as they'd planned, where they sat around a table together sharing a plate of curly fries and talking about the Lincoln murder case.

"Oh, Christian Grey totally did it," Claire said with confidence, dipping a fry in some ketchup. "I mean, they found his DNA at the scene of the crime, didn't they?"

"Yeah, but he's a billionaire and apparently his dad's a super rich lawyer," Hannah stated, shaking her head. "I can already tell you he's not going to prison."

"It's a good thing too. Guys like him are too pretty to go to jail," Claire said with a wink, and the other girls laughed.

"I just wonder what's going to happen to his company with all this going on," Ana said, stirring her iced tea with her straw. "Grey Enterprise Holdings apparently has thousands of subsidiaries all over the world, and these allegations can't be good for their businesses."

"Yeah, it must suck working for a GEH-owned company right about now," Hannah said. "Though not worse than working for Jack, I imagine."

"Oh my God," Ana rolled her eyes with a rueful smile as Claire giggled. "At least you don't have to deal with him directly like I do."

"Thank the good Lord," Hannah shook her head. "I don't know how you do it, girl."

"He hasn't been in one of his moods lately, which is nice," Ana shrugged. "Plus he's been gone all day today, which has been amazing."

"Do you think he and Elizabeth from HR are out hooking up right now?" Claire asked conspiratorially, and the other girls giggled.

"Ew. God, I don't even want to think about that!" Ana laughed. There had been rumors circulating the office that Jack and the new girl Elizabeth used to date before she'd been hired in Human Resources. The rumor mill around the office churned like crazy that the two of them were still an item.

"I heard from Beverly that Elizabeth will be on vacation for the next few weeks," Hannah said, raising her eyebrows judgmentally. "And she only started working here a month ago. Can you say '_special treatment_'?"

"So why do you think she and Jack broke up?" Claire asked with a wicked grin. "Do you think Jack couldn't get it up?"

"That, or Elizabeth couldn't deal with Jack's man-crush on Christian Grey," Hannah stated, and the other girls burst out laughing. Jack did have a weird habit of mentioning Christian Grey in conversations and in email chains whenever he could, and Ana as well as a lot of other SIP employees found it to be quite funny. He clearly admired the man for being so rich and successful, but everyone at work liked to think he had a secret crush on the guy. Ana was actually rather surprised Jack hadn't mentioned Christian Grey at all in the past few days, especially with all this public drama going on about him.

"Hey, all he has to do is think about Christian Grey when he's fucking Elizabeth - problem solved!" Claire said with a wide grin.

"Oh my God Claire, you're so mean," Ana giggled at her friend.

"Or maybe _you're _just too nice," Claire teased, throwing a half-eaten curly fry at her.

"Oh shit, our lunch hour's almost up," Hannah suddenly said, checking her watch. "We should probably head back soon."

Ana and Claire agreed after checking their own watches, and in about five minutes the three of them had finished their food, paid the bill, and headed out the door together.

~/~

The rest of the afternoon passed by relatively slowly, with only a few more emails coming through Jack's account. Ana checked them as usual, and she reflexively kept glancing at the clock, counting down until when it turned to 5 o'clock and she could finally go home.

Jack's email suddenly pinged: it was just a follow-up email from a new author agreeing to a new meeting time for next week. Ana scrolled down the email chain, biting back a giggle when she saw Jack's initial email to the client from yesterday:

* * *

**To: 'Michael Tillson'  
****From: 'Jack Hyde'  
****RE: Meeting Time **

Would a 3 o'clock meeting time next week work for you? Definitely want to get a start on pushing this book to publish. Pretty soon you'll start raking in that Christian Grey money!

See you soon, and call our office if you want to reschedule.

Sincerely,

_Jack Hyde  
__Acquisitions Editor, Seattle Independent Publishing_

* * *

Ana shook her head, smiling to herself. Once again, Jack was bringing up Christian Grey for no reason whatsoever, and to a client no less. Did he just have a compulsive need to mention the man as many times as he could a day?

Ana had an urge to forward this email to Claire and Hannah so the three of them could laugh about it, but she didn't want Jack to know about what she'd done in case he checked his Sent folder. She was, however, curious about how many times he had name-dropped Christian Grey when emailing a client…

Ana checked the clock and noticed it was already 4:30 pm. She didn't have any more work to do for the day, so she didn't feel guilty when, just for fun, she decided to do a keyword search in Jack's inbox for the name 'Christian Grey'.

Ana clicked on the Outlook search bar in Jack's email account, and she giggled to herself as she typed in 'Christian Grey' before hitting enter.

After a moment the search results appeared, and Ana was shocked at how many there were… there had to be well over a hundred emails where Jack mentioned Christian Grey's name! Amused, Ana clicked through the emails, reading all the pitches he made to new authors telling them they'll be as rich as Christian Grey if they sign with SIP.

_A bit of an exaggeration, but it does get authors to sign with us. _

Ana continued to scroll through the emails, glancing over them as she went. Jack obviously corresponded with a lot of people via email, but she was honestly surprised at how many results turned up when she searched for Christian Grey's name.

Ana noticed in the search results a tiny subfolder linked to Jack's inbox labeled _G. That was odd. Did Jack have a whole subfolder dedicated to Christian Grey? Ana clicked on it.

The subfolder consisted of multiple email chains between Jack and Elizabeth, the new girl from HR that everyone gossiped about being his ex-girlfriend. Ana felt surprised.

_Should I even be reading this?_

Ana knew she probably shouldn't, but since she was already down the rabbit hole, she felt there was no point going back now. She clicked on the first email.

She read over it, initially confused as to what it meant. But as she scrolled down the email chains, her confusion turned to surprise, and then to shock. Her eyes were glued to the screen as she read each email and response between Jack and Elizabeth; after each line her heart beat faster inside her chest. Her face had gone pale, and her palms became clammy with sweat as she continued to stare at her screen, barely registering anything else happening around her.

She didn't even notice when the clock struck 5 o'clock and all of her coworkers began to leave for the day. All she could do was continue to read these emails that would undoubtedly change her life forever.

* * *

**A/N: Next chapter, Ana figures out what she's going to do with the information she learns.**

**Please review! And be sure to friend me on Facebook for updates and pictures accompanying the chapters. I go by the username Straw Paj.**


	4. Suspicion

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Suspicion**

_It'll only be a matter of time. I spoke to Elena, she said she'll meet with you. Plan for Tuesday night. _

_Your job is to do what Christian Grey says, to go where he says, and to be what he says. Don't forget your role. It's imperative you gain his trust._

_You're meeting with Grey on Thursday. Do you remember your assignment? Ask him the question, exactly as I told you._

_I'm going to Elena's on Saturday night to execute the plan. Stay at Escala in your room, and I'll call you when it's finished. Be ready. _

_Everything needs to appear as if he did it, otherwise this plan is all for nothing. Remember that, and remember everything I explained you leading up to this. I'm counting on you, Elizabeth. _

Certain phrases Ana had just read were ringing around inside her head, making her feel dizzy. She was now alone at the office, everyone having left for the evening; a light rain had begun to fall outside, splattering gently against the nearby window, but Ana hardly heard it. She couldn't pin down exactly how she felt, though shock and numb disbelief permeated throughout her body like a pulsing infection.

She couldn't tell for sure, but it really seemed like Jack and Elizabeth had something to do with Elena Lincoln's murder. And they had planned it in such a way that Christian Grey would take the fall.

_Is this even happening right now?_

Ana only saw a month's worth of those email conversations, but she didn't know what else they could have been talking about… Jack mentioned both Christian Grey and Elena, and Elizabeth was meant to do something with them. But what? And the way Jack was talking to Elizabeth seemed creepy, like he was ordering her around or something…

_What does this all mean?_

The grinding sound of the printer finishing its job pulled Ana out of her thoughts, and she looked down at the final piece of paper landing on the pile of freshly-printed papers in the tray. Slowly, she reached down and picked up the stack with shaky hands. As confused and freaked out as Ana was by all of this, she knew how important it was for her to save the evidence of what she saw.

_Oh God, what do I do? _

That was the big question hanging over her head: what should she do with this information? And would anyone even believe her?

_I feel like I'm going crazy._

Ana couldn't believe that Jack, her very own boss, was actually behind this high-profile murder she'd been hearing about in the news all week. That he was even _capable _of committing a murder like this! But at the same time, many of her coworkers had joked that Jack was a sociopath… maybe their speculation was right on the money. His obsession with Christian Grey, his uncanny ability to charm and manipulate people, his random angry mood swings… these were all signs of a very dangerous man.

_Oh God, what are my coworkers going to think about all this?_

Ana turned back to her desk, but her shaky grip on the papers caused half the stack to slip and flutter to the floor. Getting on her knees, she quickly gathered up all the papers again, her heart pounding in her chest and a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

She had to do something with these emails. While she desperately wished she could forget what she saw, she knew that that wasn't an option. She had to take these to the police.

Ana got back to her feet and checked her watch - it was almost seven o'clock, and the cleaning crew would be here soon. Glancing out the window, she saw the sky had gotten dark and the rain was falling a bit harder. Of course, this had to be the day she walked to work without an umbrella…

Ana walked up to her desk and grabbed an empty manilla file folder to put her printed emails into before slipping the folder into her leather satchel. After pulling on her coat, shutting down her computer, and grabbing her keys, Ana hitched her bag over her shoulder and began walking out of the office. She headed out into the empty lobby and stopped right in front of the doors, staring out the glass into the rain outside.

Ana needed to take this evidence to the police. She had never in her life even called 911, let alone filed a police report… how would she even do that?

She took a deep breath, collecting her thoughts. She figured her only option was to go straight to the police station with these emails.

_Where even is the police station?_

After quickly Googling the address, she found it wasn't too far away from where she was. Due to the rain, she was tempted to call an Uber or a cab, but she felt too nervous to wait around for a car to arrive. She glanced toward the coat rack and umbrella stand beside the door, and saw that someone had left their umbrella here; she quickly grabbed it before stepping out the door.

The rain was really coming down now, but Ana stayed relatively dry under her umbrella as she made her way down the sidewalk. Since it was past rush hour, there weren't that many people out anymore, so Ana walked toward the police station unimpeded by hordes of pedestrians. Cars passed by her on the street, their headlights flashing and glinting in the rain; Ana made sure to hold her satchel away from the road, afraid of the emails getting splashed.

After about twenty minutes of walking, Ana finally made it to the police station. It was a two-story nondescript brick building with stone steps leading up to the front doors. For a moment, Ana could only stand at the base of the steps, staring up at the precinct with her heart pounding in her chest… she was scared of what she was about to do, but she knew that this was too important to let fear stop her.

Finally, she walked up the steps and entered the police station, her hands shaking slightly as she opened the door.

The whole place was rather large, but still pretty subdued - there was a waiting area to her right with plastic chairs bolted to the floor, and across from her was the front desk, covered with a thick glass window. To her left, there was a hallway leading to a large space with dozens of police officers sitting at desks, talking on the phone or typing on their computers.

Ana quickly shook out her wet umbrella and closed it before shuffling forward awkwardly. She glanced over at some of the people sitting in the waiting area: a large bearded man was staring down at his hands while a skinny boy with a neck brace filled out a form.

"Hello ma'am, can I help you?"

Ana looked up, and saw a young black woman with a badge sitting behind the window, gazing at her. Ana walked up to the counter.

"Yes, hi. Um…" Ana hesitated, biting her lip. "I… I think I need to file a police report?"

"Alright, ma'am. What is this regarding?" the woman began typing something at her computer.

"Uh," Ana hesitated again, glancing over her shoulder. "This might sound kind of weird, but I… I may have found some new evidence as to who murdered that Elena Lincoln woman."

The woman showed no outward sign of interest as she continued to type on her computer. "So you would like to submit evidence for an open case?"

Ana blinked. "Um, yeah," she said, glancing toward the corridor leading to the rest of the police station. "Look, could I just talk to one of the officers in charge of the case please?"

"They're busy at the moment, ma'am," the woman said, glancing up from her computer. "May I see your ID please?"

Ana quickly dug into her purse and extracted her ID, sliding it through the open slat at the base of the glass window. "Look, if I could just talk to someone and show them what I found…"

"You'll have to wait, ma'am," the woman said firmly. "You're not the first person to bring us 'evidence' about this Lincoln murder case, alright? The story's been all over the news, so everyone and their mother have been trying to come forward with something they think could solve the murder. You're the twelfth person this week to submit new evidence for this case, so the officers assigned to it have their hands full at the moment."

Ana opened her mouth to argue that what she found was real and that she wasn't doing this for attention, but she couldn't think of anything to say. The woman picked up a clipboard with a form attached to it and slid it through the slat along with Ana's ID.

"Please fill out this form, and check the box saying you'll agree to submit your evidence to the Seattle Police Department," the woman explained. "Also check the box saying you're willing to meet with a police officer regarding what you know. Do you have any questions?"

Ana wanted to say that she needed to talk to a police officer immediately, and that she didn't have time to waste, but knew there was no use arguing. "No. Thank you."

She picked up the clipboard and pen before walking over to the waiting area, sitting in the empty seat near the back corner where she could be somewhat hidden from view.

Ana couldn't help but feel rather dejected; a large part of her was worried the emails she found would be ignored or pushed aside by the officers assigned to this case. It kind of sucked, but it made sense that a high-profile case like this one would garner a lot of public attention, meaning a lot of people would try to get their two seconds of fame by submitting any 'evidence' they found. Ana wished she didn't have to put up with police officers sifting through mounds of useless information, but it didn't really feel like she had much of a choice.

Ana began filling out the form. It was just a standard identification form, and just as she was writing down her phone number, the front doors opened once again. She glanced up, and in a second everything in her body froze.

It was Jack.

For a split second, Ana almost wondered if she was seeing things, or if she had gone crazy… but it really was him. Had he followed her here? Was she about to be his next victim?

_Oh my God, I'm dead!_

By some miracle, Jack didn't seem to notice her as he closed his umbrella and brushed water droplets off the plastic bag he was carrying. Ana's heart was pounding frantically, and she was terrified he would glance over to his right and see her sitting barely twenty feet away. With her hands shaking, she quickly ducked her head behind the clipboard, holding it up so it blocked a majority of her face.

_Please don't see me. Please don't see me. Please don't see me_…

"Hey Jack."

Ana peeked over her clipboard to see a police officer walk up, grinning at Jack.

"Martin, how are you?" Jack asked jovially, shaking the guy's hand. "How're the kids?"

"They're good. Sarah actually just lost her first tooth…"

Jack and the police officer continued to chat like old friends, and Ana noticed a couple more officers walk up and join the conversation, smiling at Jack in a friendly way. He greeted all of them like they were his buddies, but Ana could tell it was all fake… it was the same act he put on for clients back at SIP.

_How is he friends with all these cops?_

"What'cha got there Hyde?" one of the officers asked, pointing at the bag in his hand.

"I brought you all some donuts," Jack grinned, bringing the bag up to the front desk and setting it on the counter. "I was in the area, and I figured I'd come by here and reinforce a few stereotypes."

The cops all laughed as they gathered around Jack at the counter; he took out several bakery boxes from his bag and opened them for everyone to partake in. With everyone facing the other direction, Ana quickly looked over to the door, wondering if she had a chance to escape.

"…So Broderick, how's the Lincoln murder case going?"

Ana suddenly froze the moment she heard Jack ask that. She listened intently, her nerves completely frayed.

"Nothin' new," the officer named Broderick sighed. "But that doesn't stop the media from pounding our door down every fucking day."

"I'm sorry," Jack said compassionately. "So no breakthroughs yet?"

"Not yet, especially since Grey has been refusing to speak to our detectives," Broderick said, reaching into the nearest donut box and picking a chocolate one. "He's our only lead, but he's got a super-team of lawyers blocking our every move. It's maddening."

"I bet," Jack snorted disdainfully. "A rich guy like Grey… men like him can get away with murder."

Broderick chuckled. "Come on, Jack. You know I can't really discuss cases with you."

"Yeah, yeah. I know you can't," Jack grinned, clapping him on the shoulder. "We don't have to talk about how much of a rich asshole Christian Grey is."

Broderick laughed, and the two of them continued to shoot the breeze with a few of the other officers gathered around. As silently as possible, Ana hitched her bag over her shoulder, got to her feet, and opened her umbrella, pulling it over her head as she swiftly moved toward the exit. She kept her face turned down while praying nobody noticed her.

She slipped out the front doors and walked onto the rainy sidewalk, letting out the breath she didn't know she was holding. She hurried down the sidewalk until she was over a block away, and then she stopped, panting for breath.

It only took her a moment to realize the gravity of the situation: that the entire Seattle PD was likely in Jack Hyde's pocket, and there was no way she could trust any officer with the information she knew.

_I'm completely screwed._

* * *

**A/N: Hm, looks like things are getting more interesting. Next chapter, we find out what Ana does next, and we also see how Christian has been faring since Elena's murder.**

**Please leave a review! I very much appreciate all the amazing support you guys have been giving me for this story so far :) If you want to see chapter updates with pictures, be sure to follow me on Facebook - I go by the username Straw Paj. **


	5. Fallout

**A/N: Thank you all for your amazing reviews and support! I hope you all enjoy this next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Fallout**

" …_The business world was rocked this morning when the Seattle Police Department revealed local entrepreneur Elena Lincoln had been murdered in her Montlake home on Saturday night…"_

"…_Fingerprints have been found at the scene of the crime, which the Seattle PD has confirmed as belonging to Christian Grey, the CEO of Grey Enterprise Holdings…"_

"…_Mr. Grey has not yet spoken publicly about Mrs. Lincoln's murder, but our sources confirmed the two of them had known each other for many years prior to her death…" _

"…_Mr. Grey has put out a statement through GEH denying his involvement in Mrs. Lincoln's murder, but his words have done little to convince the public of his innocence…" _

"_Could this be the end of Christian Grey and Grey Enterprise Holdings?"_

* * *

Christian doubted he had ever felt lower in his entire life.

Since the news had come out about Elena Lincoln's murder, and that he was the Seattle Police Department's number one suspect, Christian had been existing in nothing short of a living hell. The public's hatred and malice toward him, and their fear of what they thought he was capable of, truly made him the monster he had always believed himself to be. Going outside had become damn near impossible since his face was plastered all over the news. Regular people on the street would recognize him, and photographers and paparazzi would follow him in hordes. For the past few days, they would sit camped out in front of the Escala building, waiting for the chance to get even the smallest glimpse of him.

Inside his own apartment was the only place where Christian was safe from the rest of the world's ire, and yet he hated being here. Here he was constantly reminded of the choices he had made that led to this situation… that led to him meeting that bitch who had single-handedly ruined his entire life.

Elizabeth Daniels (if that even was her real name) had essentially disappeared off the face of the earth. No one had been able to find her yet, which frustrated Christian to no end. Apparently, having access to some of the best techs in the country meant little when it came to this woman. Carrick had been by his son's side throughout this whole ordeal, for which Christian was grateful, although Carrick's bewilderment over everything that had happened was obvious. He and the rest of the Grey family were upset about what had happened to Elena, but thankfully they all believed Christian when he said he had nothing to do with it. Christian had to explain to them who Elizabeth was to him though, which was an awkward conversation to say the least. His history with BDSM was not something he ever wanted to share with his family, but since Carrick already knew the details of what the cops had found when searching his home, Christian didn't really have much of a choice but to explain.

The police obtained a warrant on Monday to search Christian's penthouse, and even though he knew they weren't going to find anything related to Elena's murder, he hated that they were going to search through all his rooms, especially his playroom. His lifestyle aside, the cops still had a lot of questions regarding the instruments he kept in his playroom, obviously suspicious one of them could have been the murder weapon. But Elena had apparently been stabbed with a large knife, meaning Christian's floggers and whips weren't really considered dangerous instruments. They were taken by the police just in case, however, and the red room was now completely bare save for the bed and the disassembled Saint Andrew's cross.

The only other people Christian communicated with besides his family were Taylor and Gail. Gail was as kind as she had always been to him, if not a bit more sympathetic, but Taylor was the angriest Christian had ever seen him - both at the police and at himself for messing up his job so badly. Christian wished he could swear and yell and blame Taylor and his security for everything, but he knew deep down everything that had happened was his own damn fault.

It was the choices he had made, and the people he had trusted… this was all on him and no one else.

Taylor initially didn't understand how the security footage could have been tampered with, but Christian knew. He knew exactly how it happened, and it was his own fucking fault:

* * *

"_Do you have any more questions about the contract, Elizabeth?"_

_It was Thursday afternoon, and Christian was having his first sit-down meeting with a new potential submissive, Elizabeth. So far she was doing very well, and he was eager to finish this meeting and begin preparing for this weekend and their very first playroom session._

"_I have one question, sir," Elizabeth said, sitting primly in her seat, her back straight and her hands on her lap. "Actually, it's more of a request."_

_Christian raised an eyebrow at her. "What is it?" _

"_I noticed you have security cameras throughout your penthouse, sir," Elizabeth said. "And one of my hard limits is being recorded before, during, or after a scene."_

"_There are no cameras in the playroom, Elizabeth," Christian said. "I would never do that to any submissive, even it if wasn't a hard limit."_

"_I know, sir," Elizabeth said humbly. "But I assume there's a security camera in the hallway outside of your playroom?"_

"_There is," Christian said, eyeing her suspiciously._

"_I hate to ask sir, but I would feel much more comfortable if that camera were off when I leave the playroom after a scene. If you're carrying me back to my room, I will likely be very exposed, and your security cameras will see me in such a state."_

_Christian frowned at her. "If you don't want to be naked when I take you back to your bedroom, Elizabeth, I can easily cover you in a robe or a blanket. I don't think turning off the hallway camera is necessary when leaving the playroom."_

_Elizabeth shifted slightly in her seat, keeping her eyes down. "Even so, sir… I'm not comfortable with cameras recording me right after a scene, whether I'm naked or not. For me, the state that I'm in should be for my Dom's eyes only, and no one else's. If this is too much to ask though, sir, I understand."_

_Christian gazed at her for a moment, weighing his options, before letting out a small sigh. "Alright Elizabeth. If it makes you more comfortable, I'll turn off the hallway camera right before taking you back to your room after our session. I can only keep it off for a couple minutes though, you understand?"_

"_Yes sir," Elizabeth nodded, and she smiled widely. "Thank you." _

_Christian offered her a small nod. "You're welcome."_

* * *

At the time Christian thought her request was a bit strange, but not totally unreasonable. True to his word, he went to the security office immediately after their playroom session on Saturday to turn off the hallway camera. The door lock to that room, which is protected by a number keypad and a 5-digit passcode, Christian unlocked without incident. When he had entered the security office, he thought he had seen movement in one of the screens showing the great room, but when he looked closer he saw nothing, and he just figured it had been a trick of the light.

_Elizabeth must have followed me to the security room that day and saw me enter the passcode._

It was the only explanation as to how she was able to tamper with the security footage without raising any suspicion with Welch or any of his tech people. It was clever, Christian had to admit, but he had a hard time appreciating her cleverness when she had used it to destroy his life.

Because the God's honest truth was that Christian had no idea how he was ever going to come back from this.

The media was painting him as a murderer and a severely corrupt businessman with a vendetta against an innocent salon owner. The media speculated that Elena's business was losing money and squandering Christian's investment, leading him to kill her out of anger. As a result, businesses were starting to pull out of GEH's investment in them, and new acquisitions were breaking contracts at an alarming rate.

The worst part was that Christian could do absolutely nothing about it. These companies were leaving because of him, his name now mud to so many of the corporations that helped keep GEH at the top. Ros was now running operations, taking up the mantle of stand-in CEO while Christian rode out this PR nightmare. Christian wished things didn't have to play out this way, but he knew it was for the best, and he trusted Ros to keep his company afloat through this shitstorm.

However, there was no way of knowing when this shitstorm was ever going to end.

Every single day, Christian felt himself slipping deeper and deeper into depression. He saw no bright spot on the horizon, no hope for his future… the drive he had always felt to succeed in business and exercise control in all things was completely snuffed out. The only desire he now felt was to find Elizabeth and expose her for the treacherous evil bitch that she was… but even if the truth did come out and his name was cleared, how would his reputation ever come back from this? There would always be people who would only ever see him as a murderer, and if not that, just another rich guy who had enough money and influence to pay for people's silence and get away with murder. His company and everything he had always worked toward would inevitably suffer for it.

Christian knew that Taylor and Gail were worried about him, but he could hardly bring himself to care. All he did, day-in and day-out, was play piano, drink Scotch, or sit in the great room staring out the window at the rest of the city below. There was no work to keep him occupied anymore, so his time was free and open to do what he wished. Sometimes his dad would come over to talk about the investigation, and occasionally Christian would bring himself into his fitness room to exercise, but otherwise he had no interest in doing anything at all.

His life was essentially over now. What was the point anyway?

It was late Thursday evening now, a week since this whole nightmare started, but it might as well have been any day of the week since Christian didn't keep track of that stuff anymore. The rain was coming down pretty hard, and Christian sat and watched through his floor-to-ceiling windows in the great room. The lights throughout the penthouse were dimmed so that only a soft glow permeated throughout the place. and Christian sipped his Scotch - his fourth one of the night - while staring blankly out the window. He hadn't bothered shaving in the past few days, so his normally scruffy five o'clock shadow was now becoming a full-on beard. He idly scratched the side of his hairy face.

"Mr. Grey?"

Taylor approached hesitantly from behind him. Christian didn't say anything, but continued to gaze out the window.

"Sir, Cheryl at the front desk just called up," Taylor said. "There's a young woman in the lobby right now claiming she has a delivery for you, but Cheryl thinks it's just another reporter trying to sneak her way in."

Christian still said nothing while staring out the window. Rivulets of rainwater sliding down the glass caused the city lights in the distance to shimmer through the darkness.

"She called up just to make sure," Taylor went on. "But if you aren't expecting a delivery, she said she's going to call the police…"

"No," Christian said quickly, his voice raspy from disuse. He cleared his throat. "No… no cops, please. Go downstairs and take care of it yourself."

"Yes sir," Taylor said obediently, and Christian heard him turn and head toward the elevators. He lifted his Scotch to his lips and drained the rest of the glass.

* * *

"Please ma'am… I swear to you I'm not a reporter!"

Ana wasn't sure what the hell she had been thinking, coming to the Escala Towers so late at night. But after almost coming face-to-face with Jack at the police station, and feeling incapable of holding onto this information herself any longer, she felt that the only other place she could bring the emails was to Christian Grey himself. After doing some quick research through Google, Ana found out he lived at the penthouse suite at Escala, but she didn't anticipate coming across a rude front desk clerk. Although Ana supposed that was her own fault for not anticipating how the one-percent lived.

"Pardon me if I don't believe you," the rude woman said, glaring at Ana. "For the past week, we've had '_delivery people_' try to sneak their way into the penthouse apartment in an attempt to get a big scoop. I'm sorry, but I'm not letting you get any further than here."

"I'm not trying to get into Mr. Grey's apartment," Ana insisted, frustrated. "I just need to give something to him. Or at least one of his employees… I'm sure he has like a butler or personal doorman or something I could give my delivery to."

"I'm sorry ma'am, but if you don't leave right now, I'm going to have to call the police…"

Suddenly, the elevator doors opened, and Ana looked up to see a broad-shouldered man with a buzzcut step out and make his way over to her, his expression hard.

"Mr. Taylor," the receptionist said to the man gratefully. "Thank you for coming down. I was just asking this young woman to leave."

"I'll take it from here, Cheryl. Thank you," the man named Mr. Taylor said. He reached Ana and grasped her firmly by the arm, steering her toward the front door.

"Ow! Hey," Ana frowned as he dragged her along. "What gives?"

"I work for Mr. Grey, ma'am. He's not expecting any deliveries, and unless you leave right now, he won't press charges against you for harassment," he said firmly.

"I'm not a delivery person and I'm not harassing anyone," Ana insisted. "I have information about the Elena Lincoln murder that Mr. Grey needs to know. I think he's being set up."

"Right, you have '_information'_," he muttered sarcastically. "You and the rest of Seattle."

"Just stop for a second," Ana said firmly, managing to pull her arm free from his grip. They were now right in front of the building's glass front doors, the rain pouring down outside causing the streetlamps to glimmer. "I'm not a journalist and I'm not some huckster looking for a payout. I'm just a regular office worker who found some really fucked-up information about the Elena Lincoln murder and I want it out of my life. Can you please just take this so I can leave?"

She slipped her satchel off of her shoulder and held it out for Mr. Taylor to take. He stared down at it, a skeptical frown on his face.

"What is it?" he asked.

Ana glanced over at the front desk, which was far enough away now that she didn't think the rude woman could overhear her. "They're emails I found on my boss's computer where he practically admits to murdering Mrs. Lincoln and setting it up so Mr. Grey would take the fall," she said in a low voice. "I printed them all out and tried taking them to the police, but my boss happens to be buddies with a lot of the cops over at Seattle PD. I didn't know where else to go with this."

Mr. Taylor hesitated a moment before taking the bag and opening it, seeing the file folder inside. "I'm sorry, what's your boss's name?"

"Jack Hyde," Ana said. "He's the acquisitions editor over at Seattle Independent Publishing. I'm his assistant."

"An editor," Mr. Taylor looked highly skeptical now as he looked up at Ana again. "This mastermind you say framed Mr. Grey is just an editor?"

"Look, I know it sounds crazy," Ana insisted. "And I didn't want to believe it either, but Jack has always been weirdly obsessed with Mr. Grey, and now I finally realize why. Even if you don't believe me, please just take these emails to look over. They're a month's worth of conversations between him and his accomplice, a woman from HR named Elizabeth."

Mr. Taylor's eyes widened with shock and recognition as he stared at Ana. "Did you just say Elizabeth?"

"Yeah. Do you know her?" Ana asked.

"Maybe," he said, glancing back down at the file folder. "What's her last name?"

"Morgan. Elizabeth Morgan."

"Medium-length brown hair? Green eyes?" Mr. Taylor asked, and Ana nodded. "Hm…"

He gazed over at the elevators, obviously thinking of what he wanted to do next. Finally, he looked back over at Ana. "Would you like to come up and meet Mr. Grey?"

Ana was surprised to say the least. "Um… is that really necessary?"

Mr. Taylor frowned. "Look… the truth is that Mr. Grey _is _being set up by someone, and the only clue we have as to who's doing it is a woman named Elizabeth Daniels, which we're sure is a fake name. If this Elizabeth Morgan is the same woman we're looking for, however, that might be lead we didn't have previously."

"So you think I can help you?" Ana asked, surprised.

"It's worth a shot," he said. "Mr. Grey has been… struggling with this whole ordeal, to say the least, and I think some new information on who the real culprit is would be welcome at the moment."

Ana glanced back over at the elevator doors, thinking. Honestly, she would be nervous to meet a man like Mr. Grey face-to-face, but if it helped clear his name and implicate Jack, then it would be worth the risk.

"Okay," Ana said turning back to Taylor. "I'll meet him."

Taylor nodded, smiling gratefully. "Right this way, ma'am."

* * *

Christian felt himself nodding off in his chair when he heard the elevator doors open. Figuring it was just Taylor returning from downstairs, he didn't really think much of it, until he heard an unfamiliar female voice say "Wow."

Christian blinked open his eyes before frowning in confusion. Was he hearing things? He got to his feet and walked across the great room toward the foyer.

"Taylor?"

Nobody answered, but two people stepped out of the foyer and into the great room. One of them was Taylor, but the other was a young woman gazing at her surroundings in wonder and awe, and who made Christian suddenly stop in his tracks.

She looked young, maybe only twenty-one or twenty-two, and she was absolutely beautiful. Long chestnut brown hair and smooth alabaster skin; her pretty blue patterned dress matched the blue of her eyes, which were big on her pixie-like face. She turned her gaze to Christian with some trepidation, and Christian could only stare back at her, words escaping him at the moment.

A part of him wondered if he was seeing things, or if Taylor was trying to torture him by bringing another beautiful woman into his home. He was suddenly reminded of Elizabeth, however, and his attraction to this woman immediately evaporated into anger and distrust.

"What the fuck is this?" he asked angrily, giving the woman a onceover. "Who are you and what the hell are you doing here?"

The woman blinked before straightening herself up infinitesimally, looking at him right in the eyes. "My name is Anastasia Steele, I'm an editorial assistant at Seattle Independent Publishing, and I think my boss is trying to frame you for murder."

* * *

**A/N: So Christian and Ana finally meet! What do you think is going to happen next?**

**Please review! And be sure to follow me on Facebook (Straw Paj) for chapter updates and pictures. **


	6. Realizations

**A/N: Thank you all for your lovely reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Realizations**

Christian could only stare at this young woman, who was still gazing up at him. The closed umbrella in her hand was dripping rainwater on his marble floors, and her wet overcoat was hanging loosely over her shoulders, but she didn't seem to notice. He was unable to say anything for a moment, still processing what she had just told him.

"What is she talking about?" Christian finally turned to look at Taylor, who was standing to the side and looking between the two. "Her boss is framing me?"

"She has evidence sir," Taylor said. "She came here to Escala to give it to us… it involves Elizabeth."

Christian blinked, his attention immediately piqued, and his heart began to pound in his chest as he glanced between the two. "Really?"

"I work with her," Anastasia explained, and Christian looked at her. She looked nervous as she bit her lip, and Christian felt something stirring in his chest as she did so. "She just started about a month ago in Human Resources. Her full name is Elizabeth Morgan, but I think it's the same Elizabeth you know."

"Where do you work?" Christian asked immediately.

"Seattle Independent Publishing," Anastasia said. "It's a book publishing company near the Pike Market District. I'm the assistant to the acquisitions editor, Jack Hyde… he's the guy I think is framing you, alongside Elizabeth."

Christian frowned, his hope immediately evaporating into skepticism. "A book editor? The person who's framing me is just some book editor?"

"Miss Steele explained to me that her boss has somewhat of an unhealthy obsession with you," Taylor pointed out.

"He does," Anastasia confirmed, nodding. "Everyone in my office can attest to that. He tries to work your name into every conversation and every sales pitch to new clients. A lot of people think he has a secret crush on you or something."

Christian suddenly felt annoyed. That was her evidence? "Your boss talking about me a lot doesn't prove that he's the one framing me for murder," he pointed out.

"That's why I brought this," Anastasia said, gesturing to the satchel she was holding. "I found these emails on my boss's computer. It's a bunch of conversations he was having with Elizabeth for the past month or so, plotting everything they did to Elena Lincoln. You can see for yourself."

Christian glanced down at her bag, which she held out for him, but he still didn't feel very convinced. Perhaps it was because of everything he'd been through in the past week, but he had a hard time trusting anything this girl had to say. It all just felt too unbelievable. "Why did you come here?"

Anastasia blinked, looking surprised as she lowered her bag slightly. "What?"

"Why did you bring those emails here to me instead of to the police?" Christian asked, an undercurrent of anger in his voice. "That should be where you submit evidence for an open case, right? Why did you bring your evidence to my home so late at night, unless you were just trying to get a glimpse at the most infamous billionaire murderer in Seattle history?"

Anastasia looked shocked by his accusation before frowning in anger. "Why do you have to be so hostile? I don't care how rich you are, I'm just trying to help you! I'm not trying to take advantage of your situation."

"I have every right to be skeptical about some random woman who comes into my home late at night claiming she has top secret information about a book editor," Christian snapped. "I don't know you, and therefore I don't trust your motivations. How do I know you don't just have a vendetta against your shitty boss?"

"Mr. Grey," Taylor said, clearly uncomfortable.

Anastasia looked pissed as she held her bag out for Taylor to take. "Mr. Taylor, can you take these emails so I can go? Obviously I'm not welcome here. And for your information, Mr. Grey, I tried taking these to the police earlier this evening, but my boss happened to be at the police station talking to his cop buddies when I arrived and I was afraid for my life."

Her voice shook slightly at the end of that sentence, and Christian felt a twinge of guilt for snapping at her. Taylor looked reluctant as he took the bag from Anastasia, and he and Christian watched as she turned back toward the elevators.

"Ms. Steele, please don't go just yet," Taylor insisted, taking a step toward her retreating figure. "Can you at least stay for a few minutes so we can find out if this Elizabeth Morgan woman is the same Elizabeth we're looking for?

That seemed to catch Anastasia's attention, and she stopped, not moving for a moment or two before slowly turning back around. "I suppose that would be fine," she said. "Do you have a picture of her I can look at?"

"Yes, we do," Taylor said immediately, turning around to head down the hallway toward the security office, but Christian stopped him.

"I'll get it," he said, his eyes fixed on Anastasia for a moment before turning and heading down the hallway.

Christian went into his study and made a beeline for his safe where he kept headshots of all his past submissives, including one of Elizabeth. He thumbed through the small stack of photographs before finding Elizabeth's, but then hesitated a moment, thinking… he grabbed the entire stack of photos before closing the safe and heading back toward the great room.

He now approached Taylor and Anastasia, who were still standing near the foyer, and held out the stack of photographs for Anastasia to take. She looked confused as she accepted it from him.

"These are all different women," she pointed out, flipping through a couple of the pictures in the stack. "Why do you have headshots of a bunch of brunette girls?"

Christian ignored that question. "One of those pictures is Elizabeth. Find it for me."

Anastasia, realizing what he was doing, shot him a small scowl before turning back to the pictures. She flipped through them, examining each face briefly, before getting about halfway through the stack.

"This is her," she said confidently, picking the photo and holding it up for Christian and Taylor to see.

It was Elizabeth. Christian and Taylor stared at it for a second before glancing at each other.

_Holy shit, she knows the real Elizabeth._

"It's her," Taylor said, taking the stack of pictures back from Anastasia before looking over at Christian with barely-concealed excitement. "Elizabeth Daniels is Elizabeth Morgan."

"Unless Elizabeth Morgan is another fake name," Christian pointed out.

"It's still something to go off of," Taylor insisted. "She was hired at Seattle Independent Publishing in the Human Resources department, so we can start there."

"She's on vacation," Anastasia piped up, and Christian and Taylor looked at her. "She left earlier this week. I'm not sure where she went… but now I'm thinking it's somehow tied to the Elena Lincoln murder."

"Fuck," Christian muttered under his breath, running a hand through his messy hair. "She could be anywhere."

"She could also be laying low here in Seattle," Taylor pointed out, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "If this Jack Hyde guy is connected with her in some way, the two of them could be working together to hide her out for awhile."

"Good point," Christian nodded. "We'll call Welch in the morning to look up this Jack Hyde guy, and see how he's connected with Elizabeth Morgan, and maybe Elena too."

"Yes sir," Taylor nodded obediently. "And the emails?"

"I'd like to look over them first," Christian said, glancing at the satchel Taylor was holding. "If I feel any of them could provide additional information to the case, I'll fax them over to Welch."

"Sounds good sir." Taylor said before handing the emails back to Anastasia. He turned and headed toward the security office, leaving Christian alone with Anastasia.

He looked at her, and she avoided eye contact with him as she awkwardly glanced around the great room, taking in the vast grandeur of it. She really was a stunningly beautiful woman, and she likely was unaware of the effect she had on most men… or Christian, for that matter.

"I apologize, Taylor forgot to take your coat and umbrella when you came up here," Christian said, taking a step toward her.

"Oh… thank you," Anastasia said, raising her eyebrows as she glanced down at her wet coat. She slipped it off her shoulders and handed it to Christian along with her umbrella. He took them over to the coat rack and hung them up.

"Do you mind coming with me for a moment?" Christian now asked, gesturing toward the hallway leading to his study.

Anastasia blinked in surprise before nodding. "Sure."

She followed Christian down the hallway and into his study, where he gestured for her to take a seat in front of his desk. He closed the door behind them before moving to sit behind his desk.

"First of all, Ms. Steele, I would like to apologize for how I treated you when you first came here," Christian said, his voice sincere. "It was inappropriate for me to snap at you the way that I did, and I'm sorry."

Anastasia smiled, clearly grateful. "Thank you, Mr. Grey. And please, call me Ana."

Christian nodded. "Ana… I appreciate you coming here and bringing us what you found on your boss's computer. I know it probably couldn't have been easy for you to come here, especially after what you said you experienced at the police station."

Anastasia remained silent, clearly wondering where Christian was going with this.

"You can leave your contact information with me, and Taylor and I will be sure to send you a proper reward for your help," Christian went on, clicking onto his computer and opening up the NDA document file. "Before you leave here, though, I'd like you to sign this non-disclosure agreement to ensure you don't repeat any of tonight's information to anyone else."

Ana frowned slightly. "Um… obviously I'm not going to go repeating any of this stuff to anyone, especially to the people at work who know Jack and Elizabeth. Why do I need to sign a document?"

"It's for both your and my protection," Christian explained, scrolling through the NDA template and supplanting Anastasia's name where necessary. "It's a legal document, and I use them pretty often in the business world. It's just a way to protect confidential information from being repeated."

"Yeah, I gathered as much," Anastasia said, still frowning. "But I have to ask… is me signing this NDA contingent upon me not contacting you and Mr. Taylor after tonight?"

"Correct. Unless you have more information about your boss or Elizabeth you haven't told us yet," Christian said, raising an eyebrow at her.

Anastasia blinked before looking away, clearly trying to think. "No, not that I'm aware of," she frowned after a moment, shaking her head. She sounded disappointed, and Christian couldn't help but stare at her.

"Are you saying you want to help me and Taylor with this?" Christian asked skeptically. "Only a few minutes ago you were asking if you could leave."

"Yeah, I know," Ana said uncomfortably. "But… I just feel like now that I've helped you guys get on the right track by finding Elizabeth, I don't want to walk away now. I really feel like I can help you guys more with what I know."

"Even if that's true, I don't think that's wise," Christian said firmly. "Elizabeth has proven herself to be very dangerous, and if she were to find out you're helping me, she could target you next. It's not safe."

"It's not safe for you either," Ana countered. "Elizabeth and Jack have already framed you for murder… pretty successfully, I might add. You don't know what they're going to do next, but I might be able to help you. It's worth a shot, isn't it?"

"It's not just the danger you'll be put in, Anastasia," Christian stated, and then hesitated a moment. "It's what might come out in this whole investigation. Information about me, Elizabeth, and Elena Lincoln… information the public doesn't know about, and I'm not prepared to divulge to anyone. I'm sorry, but I'm not dragging you into this mess."

"Look, you don't have to tell me anything you're not comfortable with," Ana said, her face going red for some reason. "If it has nothing to do with Elena Lincoln's murder, then there's no point. Also, I just found out barely four hours ago that my boss for the past year is a blood-thirsty murderer, so I doubt there's anything you could tell me that would shock me."

Christian couldn't help but give her a wry, humorless smile. With everything she had been through tonight, he hadn't considered she was stronger than he had initially assumed. "Considering what you know now, are you still going to work tomorrow?"

Anastasia went a bit pale as her eyes widened. "Oh God, I hadn't even thought about that! How can I go back to work after what I found out? I don't think I can go into the office tomorrow. I suppose I can just take a sick day, I have plenty saved up."

"Yeah, but what about after that?" Christian asked seriously. "You're not safe at that company, Ana. The best thing would be for you to take a vacation somewhere or stay with family. Lay low for a little while as Taylor and I get to the bottom of this."

Ana shook her head firmly, however. "I have just as much motivation to get to the bottom of this as you, Mr. Grey. Well, maybe not _as much _motivation, but you know what I mean," she added quickly. "I won't be able to get on with my life and career until Jack and Elizabeth are gone from the company. I know this is just my first job after college, but it means a lot to me, and I'm still trying to make a name for myself in this industry. I can't just abandon that."

Christian sighed, no longer feeling the need to argue with her anymore. "I still don't think it's a good idea for you to get involved in this, Ana, but I suppose you're not really giving me much of a choice. I still need you to sign an NDA, but my lawyers will have to write up a new one for this particular situation."

"That's fine," Ana nodded before smiling. "Thank you Mr. Grey."

"It's very important that you sign that NDA, Ana," Christian went on firmly. "Due to the sensitivity of the information at hand, I can't let you leave the premises until you do sign it."

Ana seemed to pause for a second, frowning in confusion. "Wait, I… I can't leave?"

"Not until you sign the NDA," Christian affirmed. "You're free to sign this one I have right now and leave, but that would mean you can't be involved in this case anymore."

"And when would the new NDA be ready?" Ana asked.

"Sometime tomorrow," Christian said. "You would have to stay here at Escala overnight as we wait for my lawyers to write up the new one."

Ana hesitated a moment or two, thinking over her options, before finally nodding. "Okay then. I guess I'm staying the night here."

* * *

**A/N: Hm, looks like Ana and Christian are going to be spending a bit more time together :) What do you think is going to happen next?**

**Please review! And be sure to follow me on Facebook (Straw Paj) to see pictures and chapter updates. **


	7. Research

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Research**

Ana could only sit still in her chair, the realization of what she had just agreed to do suddenly dawning on her.

_Oh my God, am I actually staying here overnight? I barely even know this man!_

Signing a non-disclosure agreement to ensure she didn't go around telling people about what she had found made sense, although she wished that didn't have to be the case. Ana knew she would never go around telling people such sensitive information, NDA or not, but Mr. Grey needed that reassurance in the form of writing. If staying here overnight helped him trust her, she supposed she could do that.

"You can take the large guest bedroom," Mr. Grey now said, and Ana looked up at him. He wasn't looking at her as he typed something on his computer. "It's down the hall, to your right."

"Um," Ana hesitated, suddenly realizing a few problems. "I-I have a roommate, and she'd probably be worried if I didn't come home tonight. Also, I don't have anything here. Like a change of clothes, or toiletries…"

"My housekeeper Gail can provide you with anything you need," Mr. Grey said, scratching his chin. "And just tell your roommate that you're crashing at a friend's house tonight. Have you eaten dinner yet?"

Ana shook her head.

"Head down to the kitchen, Gail can make you something," Mr. Grey said, checking the time on his watch and frowning when he saw how late it was. "Better late than never, I suppose."

Despite the hour, Ana didn't feel particularly hungry, but decided not to say anything. She got to her feet and hesitantly slipped her satchel off her shoulder, setting it down on his desk.

"The emails," she said when Mr. Grey looked at it, and she gestured at it awkwardly. "In case you wanted to read them tonight."

Mr. Grey nodded. "I probably will. Thanks."

He didn't say anything else as he continued to type on his computer, not looking up at her, and Ana took that as a dismissal. She turned and headed toward the door, but stopped right before opening it, turning back around to look at Mr. Grey.

"Thank you Mr. Grey," she said sincerely, and Mr. Grey looked up at her again. "For your hospitality. And for, you know… hearing me out. I was starting to think that no one would believe me."

Particularly after her visit to the police station, Ana felt that there was no one she could trust to see the evidence she found about her boss and Elizabeth. Coming here to Mr. Grey's home hadn't been what she initially planned - it was a desperate attempt to have someone believe her story. Thankfully, Mr. Taylor and Mr. Grey were willing to hear her out.

Mr. Grey gazed at her for a moment before clearing his throat. "You're welcome, Anastasia. And thank you for… for not believing what everyone else has been saying about me."

Ana felt a bit surprised, but couldn't help but give him a small smile. It was strange to think that the rest of the world assumed Mr. Grey was a blood-thirsty murderer, but she felt perfectly comfortable staying here in his apartment. "Of course. Have a good night, Mr. Grey."

Without waiting for a response, Ana opened the door and stepped out, closing it quietly behind her.

Mr. Grey wasn't quite what Ana had expected. When she saw pictures of him on the news, she, like Claire and Hannah, thought he was rather handsome, though she believed him to be a murderer like everyone else. Today, when she saw him face-to-face for the first time, she couldn't help but think he looked pretty rugged, his scruffy beard making him even more handsome than in his pictures. He had been very rude to her when she first arrived at Escala, though she supposed that was understandable considering everything he'd been through in the last week. Ana couldn't imagine what it must have been like for him… to have his name and face plastered all over the news, people everywhere assuming he had murdered an innocent woman in cold blood. Being slandered so publicly like that, yet knowing he was innocent, must have been absolute hell.

Mr. Grey was being framed, and Ana hoped she would be able to help prove his innocence to the world while exposing Jack and Elizabeth for the treacherous murderers they were.

"Excuse me, are you Ms. Steele?"

Ana turned around and noticed a pretty middle-aged blonde woman approaching her, smiling kindly. Ana smiled back.

"Yeah I am," she said, feeling almost nervous. "But please, call me Ana."

"Ana. I'm Gail Jones, Mr. Grey's housekeeper," Gail smiled, reaching out to shake Ana's hand. "Just let me know if there's anything you need."

"Um…" Ana hesitated. "Mr. Grey actually invited me to stay the night in one of the guest rooms. He mentioned there was one down the hall?"

"Oh," Gail said, sounding rather surprised, but recovered rather quickly. "Of course. There's the large guest room down the hall to your right, but I'm afraid it's not prepared yet. Have you eaten yet?"

"No, I haven't," Ana said.

"Come down to the kitchen with me and I can whip up something for you," Gail said, motioning down the steps into the great room. Ana followed her.

"It's been such an eventful night, I don't know how much of an appetite I have," Ana smiled ruefully, walking into the kitchen with Gail and taking a seat at the breakfast counter.

"I'll make you something light, then," Gail offered, opening the fridge. "How about some fruit salad? I think we have some already made."

"That sounds great. Thank you Gail," Ana smiled gratefully.

"You're very welcome, dear."

Gail filled a small bowl with fruit salad before setting it in front of Ana and leaving the kitchen. Ana popped a few pieces of fruit into her mouth, enjoying the delicious sweet taste of pineapple, mango, and watermelon; there was even a subtle note of fresh mint in there. She was enjoying her fruit salad until she pulled out her phone and noticed a text from Kate.

**Kate: **_Hey, u coming home? Its getting late._

Crap, Ana had forgotten to text her roommate. What should she say? Mr. Grey had told her to tell her she was staying over at a friend's house, so Ana supposed that was the best way to navigate this.

**Ana: **_Sorry, forgot to mention im staying at Claire's tonight. I'll see u tomorrow._

Hopefully that would keep Kate satisfied. Ana really wasn't in the mood to get the third degree from the tenacious Miss Kavanagh.

Ana finished up her fruit salad just as Gail walked back into the kitchen, holding a small stack of towels in her hands. "Your room is all ready for you, Ms. Steele. There are some pajamas on the bed, and toiletries in the en suite. Let me know if there's anything else you need."

"Thank you Gail," Ana said gratefully, but a moment later an idea suddenly came to her, and she quickly spoke up. "Actually," she said, getting to her feet. "There are a few more things I might need, if it won't be too much trouble?"

'Of course not," Gail said kindly. "What do you need?"

"Let's see," Ana said, thinking. "Some paper and pencils… post-it notes, thumbtacks, pens, markers, and tape. Oh! And string."

Gail blinked, staring at Ana in obvious surprise. "Um," she said after a moment, letting out a small chuckle. "I'll, uh… I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you so much," Ana said with a smile.

Gail turned and walked back down the hallway, and Ana went to place her empty bowl into the sink before heading toward her guest room, her mind filled with ideas.

* * *

**~The next morning~**

Christian hardly slept last night. All the Scotch he had downed after dinner didn't seem to help at all, especially after that Anastasia girl had showed up at his door and practically turned his world upside-down. He'd managed to get a couple hours of sleep in the early pre-dawn hours, but when he finally woke up, a part of him almost wondered if he'd dreamt up what happened last night. It was possible his exhausted, alcohol-stupored brain had concocted the image of a beautiful young woman coming to his home and solving all his problems.

_If only._

Anastasia was real, however, and she was here in Escala right now. Regardless of the hope she offered him with those emails she found, he was reluctant to allow himself to feel too hopeful. There was still a long way to go before his name could be cleared.

Christian rubbed his tired eyes before glancing at his digital clock, noticing it was a little after six. He wanted to work out in the fitness room this morning, so he got out of bed and changed into basketball shorts and a t-shirt, texting Taylor to let him know what he was doing.

About an hour later, he had finished his workout and showered, changing into jeans and a long-sleeve black shirt. He went down to the kitchen to see Gail cooking up breakfast and Taylor having a cup of coffee while reading a newspaper.

"Good morning, Mr. Grey," Gail said kindly when she noticed Christian approaching. "Would you like your usual egg-white omelet?"

"Yes, thank you Gail," Christian said. "And could you get me some coffee too?"

"Of course."

"Mr. Grey, I wanted to get in touch with Welch right away this morning," Taylor said, setting down his newspaper. "We should let him know about the information Ms. Steele has brought us. Did you read through those emails?"

"Most of them, yeah," Christian let out a tired yawn, trying to wake himself up more. Gail set a cup of black coffee on the breakfast counter in front of him. "I think Anastasia's suspicions were correct about her boss. This Jack Hyde guy seems to have it out for me, and it appears as if he knew Elena and had been the one to plant Elizabeth as a potential submissive."

"Do you think there's enough evidence in the emails to prove your innocence?" Taylor asked, eyebrows raised hopefully.

"Not yet, but it's something to go off of," Christian said. "I'll send them to Welch when we call him today, and I'll be sure to loop in my dad too. Is Anastasia up yet?"

"I was just about to call her down," Gail said, making her way toward the hallway.

"That's okay, Gail. I'll grab her," Christian said, getting to his feet and grabbing his coffee mug. "You can finish up breakfast."

"Yes sir."

Christian made his way down the hallway toward the large room where Anastasia was staying. He knocked on the closed door.

"Come in!" her voice sounded from inside the room.

Christian opened the door and immediately froze upon seeing what was inside.

_What the actual hell…!?_

Anastasia, wearing a robe Christian recognized as one his subs often used after a playroom session, stood barefoot at the opposite side of the room facing what used to be a bare wall. Now it was covered with random post-it notes and pieces of paper, all of them were posted to the wall in a random formation by tape or thumbtacks, with multiple criss-crossing pieces of string connecting them. Everything was covered with scribbled notes, and Christian saw the desk nearby littered with crumpled pieces of paper and uncapped pens.

Anastasia glanced toward the doorway and smiled. "Good morning, Mr. Grey."

Christian opened and closed his mouth, no sound coming out for a moment or two. "What?" he sputtered out finally. "What do you mean 'good morning'? What the hell did you do to my wall?!"

"Don't worry, it's only temporary," Anastasia said dismissively, crossing her arms as she examined the wall thoughtfully. "I didn't get much sleep last night, so I've been up for the past couple hours working on it."

Christian could only stand frozen in the doorway for a few moments before hesitantly moving forward, staring at the wall of papers and post-it notes. He realized she had essentially mapped out the whole murder case as she understood it so far… four post-it notes were placed in different areas on the wall, each one labeled with a different name: _Jack Hyde_, _Elizabeth Morgan(?)_, _Christian Grey_, and _Elena Lincoln_. Multiple scribbled notes and strings connected the names, and Christian could only stare over it all.

"This is… wow," he finally said bemusedly, reading over all the notes she had written. "Your boss and Elizabeth used to date?" he asked, looking at one note Anastasia pinned up beside the string she connected the two names with.

"Yeah they did, from what I've heard around the office," Anastasia said. "She started working in HR about a month ago, and everyone started gossiping and saying she was getting special treatment because of her past relationship with the boss. It's possible they're still together, considering the fact they teamed up to kill Elena Lincoln and ruin your life."

"And you put a question mark on the note between myself and Jack Hyde," Christian said, pointing.

"Yeah," Ana said, looking where he was pointing. "I'm not entirely sure what his connection to you is, or why he's so obsessed with you, so I just put a question mark there. Do you have any idea?"

"No," Christian shook his head, gazing at the post-it with Jack Hyde's name. "Until last night, I've never heard his name before."

"That's unfortunate," Anastasia grimaced, staring at the post-it note as well. "Why do you think he has it out for you then?"

"I don't know," Christian said thoughtfully, and he glanced over at Anastasia with a wry grin. "Any theories, Rizzoli?"

Anastasia snorted. "Am I supposed to know who that is?"

"She was a TV detective, from _Rizzoli & Isles_."

"Very funny. I think the most obvious answer would be Jack's jealous of your wealth, although I don't see how taking your money would lead to him killing Elena Lincoln," Ana looked thoughtful. "And in addition to that, I don't know why he specifically targeted Mrs. Lincoln."

Christian cleared his throat. "Elena was actually the one who introduced me to Elizabeth, so I'm guessing Jack was the one who brought Elizabeth to her."

"Really?" Anastasia said, raising her eyebrows in surprise. She quickly reached over to move a piece of string so it connected between Elena and Jack. "That might actually be helpful. So Jack befriended Elena Lincoln so she would introduce Elizabeth to you, and you would subsequently trust Elizabeth enough to allow her into your home?"

Christian felt a pit form in his stomach. "From the sound of it, yes."

"If you don't mind me asking…" Ana said hesitantly, looking over at him. "Was your relationship with Elizabeth… you know… romantic?"

Christian clenched his jaw, deciding not to tell Ana the full extent of his relationship with her. "We were intimate, yes."

She looked at him sympathetically. "I'm sorry."

Christian didn't say anything for a moment before clearing his throat. "Yeah, well… it is what it is. I actually came up here to let you know breakfast is ready, so once you're done here, get dressed and come downstairs so we can discuss the case more."

"'Get dressed'?" Anastasia asked skeptically, gesturing to the robe she was wearing. "This is the only clean outfit I have. The dress I wore last night got rained on."

Her robe only went down to her mid-thigh, and Christian could see it gaping open slightly at the chest, revealing a low-cut white tank top underneath. He had a sudden urge to take her in his arms, rip off her robe, and bury his face in her cleavage, kissing and nipping the soft skin of her breasts as she moaned in pleasure, running her fingers through his hair and gripping him tightly…

_Focus Grey_

Christian walked over to the closet door and opened it, revealing multiple garment bags hanging there. Ana looked shocked as she stared at them. "My sister Mia keeps a few extra outfits in this guest room when she stays over. You're free to take anything you need, you're just about her size."

Ana blinked before letting out an incredulous chuckle. "Wow. Thank you Mr. Grey."

"You're welcome. Come downstairs once you're ready," Christian said, making his way to the door. He stopped and turned to look back at her. "And Ana?"

"Yes?" she looked at him expectantly.

"Call me Christian."

* * *

**A/N: I'd like to see an entire series of Christian and Ana as detectives :) lol **

**Hope you all enjoyed that chapter! Next up, Ana and Christian continue their investigation into Jack Hyde.**


	8. Analysis

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Analysis**

Christian walked down the hallway and headed back toward the kitchen, his mind still dwelling on Anastasia and her 'detective board'. He almost wanted to laugh about it… she really was quite a mystery to him. Ana had seemed very sweet and trusting when he first met her last night, but now he could see she was resourceful and shrewd, clearly eager to help him solve this murder and clear his name. She was quite confusing to Christian, and he couldn't decide if he liked it or not.

He now walked over to the breakfast counter and sat down. He was about to start on the egg-white omelet that Gail had placed in front of him when he heard the elevator suddenly ding with someone's arrival. On instinct his heart started pounding with nervousness, but he calmed down a bit when he saw his father enter from the foyer.

"'Morning son," Carrick smiled as he approached. He was dressed in his usual suit and tie, a leather briefcase in hand. "How are you today? Hope you have some coffee left."

"I'm good, Dad. Gail can get some for you," Christian said, nodding at Gail who immediately went to fetch a mug. "What are you doing here?"

"You emailed my team late last night about a new NDA you wanted written up by this morning," Carrick said, taking the seat adjacent to Christian and placing his briefcase on the counter beside him. "I have it right here, although I am curious as to why you needed it so soon."

"It's a long story," Christian grimaced, cutting into his omelet. "But thanks for getting it to me so quickly."

"I also wanted to talk to you more about the investigation," Carrick went on. "I know that you've been feeling pretty hopeless lately, but if this case is going to go to court, I think you have a solid defense since the investigation hasn't been able to prove any motive on your part…"

Carrick continued talking about the investigation for the next few minutes, and Christian didn't say anything. He knew he had to tell his father about what had happened last night, but he wasn't sure of the best way to bring it up.

Apparently he didn't have to, since a few moments later Anastasia walked into the kitchen from the hallway, having gotten dressed in a pair of white skinny jeans and a pink v-neck t-shirt. She was talking on the phone:

"…I'm sorry, but I really don't think I can come in today Claire," Ana said, a forced strain in her voice. "I woke up with an awful migraine this morning and I don't think I can drag myself out of bed. Can you let Jack know I won't be in?"

Ana continued to speak on the phone to the girl named Claire for another minute or so, not paying attention to the others in the kitchen. Christian glanced at his father, who looked dumbfounded at the appearance of this random girl walking into the room as if she lived here.

Ana finally hung up the phone and walked toward them. "Sorry, I was just calling into work," she said to Christian before looking over at Gail with a bright smile. "Good morning Gail."

"'Morning Ana," Gail smiled from the stove. "Can I make you an omelet?"

"Sure, that sounds good," Ana said before turning to Carrick with a smile. "Hi."

"Um… hi," Carrick said, glancing over at Christian with a confused look. Christian had to bite back a laugh.

"Dad, this is Anastasia," Christian introduced. "She's who I needed the NDA for. Anastasia, this is my dad and the head of my legal team. He's been helping me with this whole Elena Lincoln murder case."

"Oh," Ana said in surprise, and she smiled as she reached over to shake his hand. "I didn't realize Christian's dad was also his lawyer. It's nice to meet you."

"You too… I'm sorry, who are you?" Carrick said, still frowning as he shook Anastasia's hand. "How exactly do you know my son?"

"You haven't told him yet?" Ana asked Christian, raising her eyebrows in surprise.

"I was going to loop him in today along with my tech guy Welch, but I guess now's as good a time as any," Christian said, looking over at his father. "Anastasia came by Escala last night with some emails she found between her boss and Elizabeth."

"Elizabeth?" Carrick asked, eyes widening in shock. "As in Elizabeth Daniels?"

"Her last name is actually Morgan," Ana piped up, and Carrick looked at her. "But it's the same Elizabeth. She works in HR at my company, and she and my boss used to date. When I found those emails on Jack's computer, I realized he and Elizabeth were both involved with the Elena Lincoln murder, which I'd heard about in the news. I felt the best solution was to print them all out and bring them straight to Christian."

"And you have these emails?" Carrick asked, turning to Christian eagerly. "Could I see them?"

"Yeah, they're in my office," Christian said. "How about you, me, Ana, and Taylor go into my office right now and give Welch a call? We can all talk about this new information and figure out our next steps."

"Sure, that sounds good," Carrick agreed.

He and Christian both got to their feet, and Ana soon followed, shooting Christian an eager grin before leading the way down the hall toward his office. Christian was momentarily surprised by her excitement, but considering the fact she had made a makeshift detective board in his guest room, he realized she found an honest enjoyment in being a part of this investigation.

Christian supposed if this murder case was affecting anyone but himself, he would be able to find some enjoyment in solving it too.

* * *

**~A few hours later~**

The call with Welch went longer than Christian had expected. Carrick read over all the emails and agreed to fax them over to Welch. Welch said the emails were definitely something to go off of, and the fact that they now had more information on Elizabeth's true identity was a huge plus. Welch promised to get as much information about Elizabeth Morgan as soon as he possibly could by the end of the day.

Ana sat in on the group call with the others, listening intently and answering any questions Welch or Carrick had that Christian couldn't answer. She listened intently and asked questions when necessary, and the pensive frown she had on her face the entire time made Christian wonder if she had some ideas of her own on what to do next.

Once their call ended, Christian dismissed Taylor and Anastasia, leaving him and his dad alone. Carrick rubbed his chin, clearly thinking about everything they discussed.

"I hope as much as you do that this all works out, son," Carrick said after a moment, finally looking over at him. "I just want to be sure you know what you're doing, particularly with this Anastasia girl. You know what happened the last time you trusted a random girl blindly like that."

"I know Dad," Christian assured him. "And trust me, I was very skeptical of Ana when she first arrived here last night, but I really do feel she honestly wants to help with this investigation. She agreed to sign the NDA, at least."

"That's good. And I agree with you, Anastasia does seem sincere, but we can't be too careful," Carrick said, getting to his feet. "When I first saw her walking into the kitchen this morning, I thought she was one of your… what do you call them… submissives?"

Christian frowned in annoyance. "Jesus Dad. I'm practically on Seattle's Most Wanted list, I wouldn't even think about finding a girl to hook up with at a time like this."

"I know, I know," Carrick conceded, raising his hands innocently. "Even so, Anastasia seems like a very nice girl. I'm glad she was able to come across those emails between her boss and Elizabeth, and she was smart enough to bring it straight to you. I'm hopeful that her information will be what finally clears your name and puts this whole nightmare behind us."

Christian nodded, but didn't say anything. Honestly, despite the hope Anastasia had brought to him last night, he still had a hard time seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. GEH was still suffering because of this investigation, and it would likely continue to suffer for months or even years down the line. Christian doubted his name and reputation could ever overcome the label of 'murderer', even though he hadn't done anything wrong. Being falsely smeared in such a public way rarely ended well, and could bring even the strongest of men to their knees.

Hell, it brought Christian to his knees in less than a week, and even now he struggled to get back on his feet. Who's to say he would ever truly come back from this?

Carrick finished gathering up his things, and Christian walked him back out to the great room before saying goodbye. Once he was gone Christian walked back down the hallway, his mind wandering listlessly, before he stopped in front of the door of what used to be his playroom.

The door was still locked, so Christian knew nobody was in there, but it didn't stop him from just standing and staring at the door. He wasn't sure why he still kept that room locked… it's not like he had anything stored there to hide from the world anymore.

Without pausing to think, Christian moved forward and pulled his keys out of his pocket, finding the one for the playroom almost immediately. He unlocked the door and stepped inside, flicking on the light.

The scent of wood polish still lingered around the empty room, though it was much less pronounced than it used to be. Christian hadn't really been in here since he and Taylor had cleared it out after the police searched it, leaving nothing but the four poster bed and the disassembled Saint Andrews cross behind.

Christian slowly walked over to the wall facing the four poster bed and leaned against it. He almost found himself missing the control this room afforded him, helping him make sense of his life when things would become too chaotic. Now that being a Dominant wasn't really an option for him to find control again, he could no longer find the sort of peace BDSM used to give him.

_Would I ever be a Dominant again?_

It was impossible to know, at least at this point in time, but Christian had a hard time imagining himself ever coming back to this lifestyle, especially considering how Elizabeth had used it against him in such a devious and destructive way. How could he ever come in this room with a new submissive and pretend that the past never happened?

Christian briefly considered the possibility of moving somewhere far, far away from Seattle, and he couldn't help but smile wryly at the thought.

"Hey, there you are."

Christian turned, seeing that he had left the door wide open, and Anastasia walked through. He felt his heartbeat skyrocket.

"Ana," he said automatically, straightening up. "Um… what are you doing?"

For a brief moment he forgot that this was no longer his playroom and that there weren't any incriminating BDSM instruments in here anymore, but he still felt strange seeing her walk in here so casually.

"I was just looking for you," she said, walking toward him. She held up the NDA Carrick had left on the breakfast counter. "I read over the NDA and signed it, just like you wanted."

"Oh," Christian said, accepting the papers she handed him. "Thank you. I appreciate it."

"No problem," she said kindly. She then turned her gaze to the room around her, taking in the red walls and bare four poster bed. Christian felt sick to his stomach. "Cool room," she said conversationally. "I like the red walls. Is this an old storage space?"

Christian felt his stomach contract as he swallowed nervously. "Something like that."

"So hey, I had an idea," Ana suddenly said, changing tack as she faced Christian again. "About the investigation."

Christian gestured to the NDA. "You signed this, didn't you? You're free to leave whenever you want now. You don't have to stick around anymore."

"Yeah, well, I do want to stick around and help," Ana insisted. "I mean… that is, if you want me to. I have an idea about what we could do to find more information before your guy Welch finishes Elizabeth's background check."

Christian couldn't help but smile slightly, feeling almost glad that she didn't want to leave just yet. "Well, I suppose since you're taking the day off of work today you're free to do whatever you want. What's your idea?"

"I think we should go to Elena Lincoln's house and search for clues."

Christian's smile dropped almost immediately at that suggestion. "No. No way, we are _not _doing that."

"What? Why not?" Ana said, her eager look now dropping into confusion. "Your friend Elena obviously knew my boss Jack, and he apparently murdered her in her own home. He probably left some sort of clue that the police missed or overlooked. We should investigate ourselves so we can have some solid evidence to help clear your name."

"Ana, I'm currently the police's number one suspect for Elena's murder. I haven't been able to leave this apartment for days," Christian said. "I get recognized everywhere I go. Not to mention there's probably going to be police officers trolling around Elena's home since it's a high-profile crime scene."

"The murder's a week old already, the house is probably only blocked off by police tape," Ana brushed off. "And you have a spare key to her house, don't you? We can wear disguises to sneak in, take a quick look around, and be out of there before anyone even knew we were there."

Christian frowned. Truthfully, he had thought about searching Elena's house for evidence, but he was reluctant to let Anastasia come with him in case she potentially found Elena's BDSM dungeon or Domme paraphernalia. Ana didn't know about his and Elena's past relationship, and although Christian was confident Elena didn't keep any souvenirs from their time together, he still felt uneasy about her being exposed to that world.

Ana, noticing Christian's hesitation, held out her hand, palm up. "Look, if you don't want to go, I'll just go myself. Can you give me the key to her house?"

"You're not going by yourself," Christian said firmly, and after a moment he let out a resigned sigh. "I'll go with you to Elena's house, but we're bringing Taylor with us to keep an eye out. We won't stay longer than we have to, and at the first sign of trouble we're out of there. Alright?"

"Alright," Ana smiled, dropping her hand. "I'm glad you agree. I really feel like this is the right thing to do."

"Let's hope so," Christian said reluctantly.

"Oh come on. Sneaking out to investigate an open murder case… what could possibly go wrong?"

She shot him one last grin before turning and walking out of the playroom. Christian watched her leave before shaking his head, smiling to himself as he followed her.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you all enjoyed that! Next chapter, Christian and Ana go to Elena's house to go searching for clues.**

**Please review! And be sure to follow me on Facebook - I go by the username Straw Paj.**


	9. Investigation

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Investigation**

**~1:32 pm~**

Christian was starting to have some serious doubts.

Taylor currently drove him and Ana toward Elena's house, both of them sitting in the backseat as they rode through the streets of Seattle. It had been several days since Christian had even stepped outside his apartment, and today for their excursion he had dressed conspicuously in dark jeans, a black shirt, and a baseball cap to cover up his copper hair. Ana had found a dark blue hoodie in Mia's wardrobe, and borrowed a Mariners cap and aviator sunglasses from Christian to cover her face and head. She looked surprisingly cute dressed like that, but Christian couldn't think about it too much as he tried to focus on what they were about to do.

Several times over the past hour or so, Christian had wanted to tell Ana he decided they weren't going to Elena's house and that the plan was off. He hated the fact that Ana was about to go there… this was the same house where Christian had been sent to as a teenage boy by his parents to work over the summer. It had been this house where, on one fateful day, Elena had slapped him across the face and then kissed him, marking the beginning of a 6-year-long affair that had changed the course of his entire life.

Whether it had been for better or worse, Christian still wasn't sure, but what he did know was that he didn't want Ana exposed to that part of his past just yet.

Ana currently had her phone out, and she frowned down at something she read on the screen. "Dammit," she muttered to herself.

"Everything okay?" Christian asked.

"Yeah, I just have a nosy journalist for a roommate," Ana sighed. "She keeps texting me and asking if I'm at work… I think she's suspicious of where I was last night. I'm not going to tell her, obviously, but I think I need to go home after all this so I can ease her down a bit."

Christian couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed, but he nodded all the same. "I understand. Taylor can take you home as soon as we're done here."

Ana smiled at him, and Christian almost thought it looked a little sad. "Thanks. I hate that I have to leave, but I suppose it's for the best. Can you let me know when your guy Welch finishes his background checks on Elizabeth and Jack? I'd still like to be able to help, however I could."

"Yeah, of course," Christian said. "I'll be sure to give you a call. Hopefully tonight he'll have all the information we need."

Ana smiled again, but didn't say anything more as she turned back to her phone, texting her roommate.

The two of them remained silent for the rest of the car ride, and Christian still felt a bit nervous for what they were about to do. He had no idea what they were going to encounter once they arrived at Elena's house, but he knew they could find something potentially crucial to this investigation. It was worth the risk, though Christian almost wished Ana wouldn't have come along. This might get dangerous, and the last thing he wanted was to put her in harm's way. She'd insisted on coming, however, so Christian didn't have much of a choice.

Finally, they reached Elena's neighborhood in Montlake, and they turned onto a more residential street with the familiar long winding driveways leading to old beautiful Victorian homes. Christian recognized Elena's front lawn and gated drive as Taylor pulled up about half a block away near a copse of trees.

"Is that it, then?" Ana asked, gazing over at Elena's front gate as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

"Yeah," Christian said, glancing out the rear window to make sure no one was around. "Taylor, you're staying right here in the car to keep a lookout. Call me immediately if you see any police cars or suspicious people hanging around, alright?"

"Yes sir," Taylor nodded. He had gone over his orders with Christian earlier at Escala, so he knew the protocol.

"Alright," Christian said, turning to Ana. "You have everything?"

"Yes," Ana said firmly. "Now can we go, please?"

Christian couldn't resist smiling at her. "Impatient, Ms. Steele?"

Ana rolled her eyes. "Yes. Now stop procrastinating and let's get to it already."

Without waiting another moment, she opened the car door and stepped outside. Christian felt torn between amusement and annoyance, but decided not to say anything as he opened his own car door and stepped outside to follow her.

The two of them made their way toward Elena's gated driveway, which was blocked off by a long yellow strip of police tape. Thankfully, Christian didn't see anyone lingering around.

"How are we going to get in?" Christian asked, gazing at the police tape with a frown.

"Do you know the code to the gate?" Ana asked.

"I think so," Christian said.

Ana walked toward the left side of the gate and grabbed the tape, pulling it so the one side fluttered down to the ground. She smiled over at Christian. "Let's go then."

Christian felt momentarily surprised at her doing that before letting out an incredulous chuckle. "You know Ms. Steele, I think you're starting to enjoy this whole sleuthing business."

"Hey, I'm here anyway. I might as well enjoy it," Ana smirked.

Christian walked over to the dial pad next to the gate and typed in the code Elena had given him a few years ago in case of an emergency: 3725282, which spelled out Esclava. He was relieved to see the light blink green and hear the gate begin to swing open.

He and Ana walked through the open gate before Christian pressed the button to close it. Once it was closed, Ana reached through the bars of the gate and picked up the dropped end of the police tape, placing it back where it was.

"Just to be safe," Ana explained, looking over at Christian, and he grinned.

"Of course."

The two of them walked up the driveway toward the house, which stood like a large silent sentinel up ahead. Christian didn't know if it was because he and Ana were about to break into the place, or the fact that Elena had been murdered here, but he still couldn't help but feel nervous for what they were about to see inside.

They reached the front porch and Christian pulled out his keys, finding the one he knew was Elena's. He unlocked the door before pushing it open, stepping inside as Ana followed him.

The place looked more bare than Christian had remembered it. The spacious foyer, which used to have multiple end tables, flower vases, and picture frames, was now mostly empty, and the few tables that remained were covered with translucent plastic sheets. He and Ana could only silently stare at everything.

"The murder happened in the living room, right?" Ana asked after a moment.

"Yeah," Christian nodded.

"I think we should start there, then," Ana said, reaching into the messenger bag she had brought along with her. She pulled out two pairs of black gloves before handing a pair to Christian. "Here."

Christian took the gloves from her, his eyebrows raised. "We're just searching for clues, not robbing the place," he said sardonically, slipping them on.

"I don't want us to leave any fingerprints," Ana insisted, slipping her own gloves onto her hands. "I'm just being cautious. I also brought some resealable baggies in case we find anything incriminating."

"You've really thought of everything, haven't you?" Christian said, his voice amused. "Why do you want to go into publishing? You're clearly made out to be a detective."

Ana giggled. "I don't know about that. I've just read a lot of murder-mystery books in my life, that's all."

The two of them made their way down the hall before stepping into the living room. Ana let out a surprised gasp.

The whole place had clearly been searched through thoroughly by the police, with all the large pieces of furniture being covered by the same translucent tarp from in the foyer. However, the most prominent aspect of the room was the large faded bloodstain in the middle of the hardwood floor, sitting there like a grotesque accoutrement.

Christian felt sick to his stomach as he stared at it, and he looked over at Ana. "Are you alright?"

Ana, who looked paler than usual, pressed her lips together before nodding. "Yeah, I just… I wasn't expecting to see that."

"We can leave right now if you're feeling too queasy," Christian said, placing a hand on her arm.

"No, no I'm alright," Ana insisted, taking a deep breath before looking up at Christian. "I'm okay. Let's start looking around the place for clues."

Christian wanted to protest, but Ana had already stepped away from him and began walking toward an armoire at the far end of the living room. Christian watched her for a moment before reluctantly turning and walking toward a nearby shelf.

The next fifteen minutes or so passed silently as Christian and Ana searched Elena's living room for clues. Christian wasn't exactly sure what they were looking for, but he sifted through as many of Elena's things as he could find, including books, magazines, papers, and random knick knacks.

"Find anything yet?" Christian asked, looking over at Ana, who was searching through a stack of file folders she found in a drawer.

"Just a lot of papers about her salon," Ana said, flipping through a packet of papers. "Financial stuff, and print marketing materials… it's a lot, and I can't tell if any of this is useful."

"It probably isn't. I was a silent partner in Elena's salon, and I would have known if something fishy was going on at her company."

Ana let out a sigh as she tossed the packet back onto the pile of papers. "I guess I'll go try the shelves in the East wing."

She picked up the stack of folders and put them back in the drawer before walking across the room toward the opposite side of the spacious living room. Christian saw her deliberately skirting around the giant bloodstain in the middle of the floor.

"You know, if you find any jewelry, feel free to keep it," Christian said lightly, turning back toward the bookshelf he was searching through. "I don't think anyone's going to go looking for anything valuable around here. Elena doesn't have any immediate family left to leave her assets to, and everything's likely going to be auctioned away if it's not already police evidence."

"I'm not going to steal anything, Christian," Ana said in a chastising voice. "That would be wrong, and I'm not doing this for monetary gain."

Christian looked over at her again. "Why are you doing it exactly?"

"To help you prove your innocence," Ana said simply, opening a drawer and sifting through the contents. "You're being publicly crucified for something you didn't do… I can't imagine how horrible that's been for you. And I'm sure your business isn't faring so well either."

She cast him a sympathetic look before turning back to the drawer, but Christian couldn't help but gaze at Ana even as she looked away. His heart thudded with an emotion he wasn't used to feeling… her sympathy for him was so nice, and he was rather surprised by how good it felt to have someone be so understanding of his plight. Perhaps because he was so used to people assuming he was a murderer that Ana's kindness felt so unprecedented, but he couldn't help but appreciate her being at his side through all of this.

Ana continued to sift through the drawer for a moment before letting out a shocked gasp. "Oh my God!"

Christian, feeling suddenly nervous she had found something BDSM-related, got to his feet and made his way toward her. "What did you find?"

Ana pulled up a plain manila file folder and held it out for him to see. "Look at this."

She pointed to the tab, where someone had scribbled in pen __G_.

"G?" Christian asked, raising an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to mean something?"

"Those emails I brought to you last night," Ana explained. "I found them in a subfolder in Jack's email account marked 'underscore G'. I feel like it has to mean something."

"That folder looks empty though," Christian pointed out, looking at how thin the folder was in Ana's hand.

She opened it. There were no documents inside, but instead one single Polaroid picture - it was just a man and a woman with two little boys standing in front of a rundown blue house. The crinkled and worn edges of the photo made Christian think it had been taken a long time ago.

Ana flipped the photo over and read on the back:

_The Collier's with Christian and Jack - Detroit, 1987_

Ana looked up at Christian, who was staring in disbelief at the photograph. "Wait, this is a picture of you and Jack?"

Christian wordlessly took the Polaroid from Ana's hand and gazed down at it, examining the people on it. He could now vaguely recall staying at a foster home with the Collier's for a couple months before Grace and Carrick officially adopted him, and he remembered another kid coming to stay with them for awhile. There wasn't much else he remembered about that time though.

_Why the hell does Elena even have this picture?_

"This is so crazy… you and Jack may have actually known each other from years ago. In Detroit of all places," Ana exclaimed. "And the Collier's… do you know who they are?"

"Foster parents," Christian said quietly, still staring down at the photograph.

There was a short pause. "Oh," Ana said, her voice noticeably subdued. "I…um… I didn't realize you were adopted."

Christian finally looked back up at Ana. "Yeah, when I was four years old. This picture must have been taken right before the adoption went through."

"Do you think Jack knows?" Ana asked. "That the two of you had been in foster care together?"

"I don't know," Christian said, looking back down at the picture again. "Honestly, I'd forgotten all about this part of my life after my mom died. It's possible Jack doesn't know, but you yourself said he might have some sort of vendetta against me. Our shared past in the foster home may be key to that."

Ana remained silent, clearly mulling over everything in her mind. Christian continued to examine the photograph, trying to gauge his memory for anything relating to this time in his life, but before he could come to any conclusions, his cell phone began to buzz in his pocket.

Christian set the photograph back in the folder before pulling out his phone. His heart dropped when he saw it was Taylor calling.

"Taylor, what's going on?" Christian asked immediately as he answered the phone.

"Sir, there's someone at the gate," Taylor said immediately. "A man. He's about to enter Elena's property."

Christian looked at Ana, whose face was pale with fear. "Some guy is coming through the gate. He's likely heading for the house."

"Oh shit," Ana panicked, closing the folder with the picture in it and shoving it back into the drawer.

"Taylor, what does he look like?" Christian asked into the phone.

"He's got red hair pulled back in a ponytail, a black coat and dark slacks," Taylor rattled off. "Medium-height, average build, looks to be in his early thirties."

"This guy apparently has red hair in a ponytail," Christian said to Ana, and she looked at him with immense fear.

"That's Jack," she said, her voice shaky with fear. "Oh my God, that's Jack!"

"Ana says that that's Jack Hyde, Taylor," Christian said into the phone. "Get a picture of him if you can."

"Will do, sir. But you guys need to get out of there right now," Taylor insisted.

"We'll stay out of sight," Christian assured him before hanging up.

"What are we going to do Christian? He'll be here at any moment," Ana said, frantically gazing around the living room.

"We'll duck out through the back door," Christian said firmly, sweeping his eyes over the whole area and making sure nothing was out of place. Thankfully, they both had cleaned up after themselves so there was no evidence of them being there. "Come on, let's go."

Christian took Ana's hand and pulled her toward the large glass patio door on the south side of the room. He opened it before he and Ana rushed out onto the deck, closing the door behind them.

"Over here," Ana insisted, running over to the large shrubs lining the house. The two of them were now mostly hidden from sight, though the large bay window right next to them could afford them a decent view inside.

Christian and Ana silently sat crouched together in the shrubbery, waiting for something to happen. A minute later they heard the faint sounds of the front door opening and closing, footsteps coming closer. They suddenly stopped.

Christian couldn't resist, and he peeked through the shrub he and Ana were behind to peer through the bay window, his heart pounding. Standing right there in the living room, oblivious to anyone watching him, was the man who had ruined Christian's life. The man who Christian felt his hatred for could rival that of Elizabeth…

Jack Hyde.

* * *

**A/N: Uh oh! Next chapter, Christian and Ana will have to figure out what to do next.**

**Please review! And be sure to friend me on Facebook - I go by the username Straw Paj.**


	10. Escape

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Escape**

The door shut with a quiet snap as Jack stepped into Elena's house, gazing around at the once-opulent foyer, now having been stripped of all personal effects. It now sat bare and empty, looking almost sad with how little had been left here ever since…

Well, ever since he had last been here.

Jack hadn't ever planned to come back to this place, but Elena had kept something of his that he needed to retrieve, and he didn't really have much of a choice but to return to the scene of the crime. Elizabeth refused to leave the apartment, and since his useless assistant called in sick this morning, he decided to bite the bullet and come by today while everyone else was at work. Thankfully, no cops hung around here anymore to ask questions.

Jack headed down the hallway, the hardwood floors creaking under his feet as he walked along. When he reached the living room, he stopped in his tracks, gazing around; this place remained just as empty as the foyer, though he had a strange feeling he wasn't alone. However, that might have been because of the eerie-looking bloodstain in the center of the floor.

_Fucking cops can't even properly clean up the place._

He stared down at the stain for a moment, his nose scrunched up in disgust, before he turned and made his way toward the east wing. He made a beeline for the drawer he knew the file was in.

He opened the drawer and frowned, seeing the _G folder on top of all the papers already inside. He could have sworn Elena had placed this toward the bottom, hidden away from view.

Jack picked up the folder and opened it, ensuring the photo was still inside. He turned and gazed around the empty living room, his senses suddenly on high alert. He couldn't explain it, but he had a strange feeling he wasn't alone in here.

_Perhaps ghosts of the past really do linger here. _

Sweeping his eyes one more time around the area, Jack finally turned and made his way back toward the front door, the folder and picture clutched in his hand.

* * *

"Is he gone?"

Ana tried to move her head up to peer through the window from the shrub she and Christian were still crouched behind. Christian quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her down.

"Stay down," Christian hissed. "He could still be inside."

Before Ana could respond, they both heard the distant sound of the front door slamming shut. As one, Christian and Ana both peeked up over the shrub and gazed through the window.

"I think the coast is clear," Ana said, about to stand up once again, but Christian stopped her by her wrist.

"Let me call Taylor to confirm, and then we'll go in," he whispered. He pulled out his phone as Ana crouched back down beside him.

"Taylor, we think Jack left. Do you have eyes on him?" Christian asked as soon as Taylor picked up.

"Yes sir, he just walked through the gate and onto the street," Taylor said. "He's heading back to his car, a black Lexus."

"Follow him," Christian said immediately. "Go wherever he's heading, and try to get his license plate number."

"Yes sir," Taylor said. "What about you and Ms. Steele?"

"We'll wait for you here."

"No. I have to insist you don't stay at Elena's house," Taylor said firmly. "I won't be parked out here to keep a lookout, and if a police officer comes by and catches you at the scene of the crime, you both could be arrested."

Christian's heart sank, realizing he was right. "What do you suggest then?"

"Both of you get off the property and go for a walk," Taylor said. "Get as far away from the house as you can on foot. If you head over the bridge toward the university, you'll get some better crowd cover. Just keep a low profile, and I'll geo-locate your phone once I get back."

"Will do," Christian said. "Thanks."

"Be safe, sir."

They both hung up, and Christian turned to Ana. "Come on, we have to get out of here."

"What? No, we should stay here and keep searching for clues," Ana insisted, but Christian got to his feet, taking her by the arm and pulling her up too.

"It's not safe to stay here without Taylor keeping a lookout," Christian said firmly. "We have to get off this property right away and keep a low profile. We'll just walk a few blocks away, toward the university."

Ana looked upset as she glanced toward the patio door. "Okay. Let me just grab the picture and we can leave."

Before Christian could say anything, Ana hurried toward the patio door. Christian quickly followed her.

"Hurry up," he said as Ana made her way into the house and toward the east wing "I don't want to be caught here if a police officer happens to walk in."

Ana walked up to the drawer where she found the picture and opened it. She froze for a second or two, staring down into it, before turning back toward Christian, her eyes wide. "It's not here anymore."

Christian frowned before walking over. Ana turned back to the drawer and started digging through it.

"I could have sworn I put it on top of everything," she said worriedly, still digging through the drawer. She finally stopped, looking back up at Christian with extreme worry in her eyes. "I think Jack took it."

Christian's stomach dropped, somehow knowing she was right. "That must have been why he came here."

If that picture really was of himself and Jack as children, Christian realized it must have been important evidence of some sort. Did Hyde want to get rid of it, or was it of some significance to him?

Ana turned back to the drawer and continued digging through it, fruitlessly searching for the folder. "It's not there Ana. We have to go now," Christian insisted.

She ignored him, still searching through the drawer, and Christian moved forward to put his hands on top of hers, pausing her movements. "Stop. Please Ana, it's not there anymore. Hyde took it."

"It was our one clue," Ana said helplessly, looking up at Christian in distress. "It was the one thing we found that could have been important evidence to this case, and now it's gone!"

"But you and I saw it, and we know it exists," Christian reassured her. "Also, we know that Hyde feels it's important somehow, otherwise he wouldn't have taken it. That's more than we knew before we came here."

Ana nodded, looking slightly mollified. "Yeah."

"Come on, we need to head out of here now before anyone else shows up," Christian said, closing the drawer. "Taylor's following Hyde to wherever he drove off to, and he'll give me a call once he gets back."

Ana nodded again, and she allowed Christian to take her hand. He helped her gather up her things before leading her back toward the front door.

~/~

Slipping out of the house and back through the gate onto the road was thankfully pretty easy. The neighborhood stood still and quiet, and apart from some old lady walking her dog in the distance, they didn't see anyone else around. However, that didn't prevent Christian from feeling on edge as he gazed at the large suburban houses surrounding them.

"The bridge is this way, I think," Ana said, pointing north. "Let's go."

She and Christian began to walk together down the sidewalk. Beyond the trees in the distance, Christian could see the waters of Portage Bay, and he knew the bridge across the water was nearby.

"We should walk a bit faster," Christian said, glancing over his shoulder to ensure they weren't being followed. "We need to get as far away from Elena's house as we can."

"We need to act like we're just taking a leisurely walk like normal people. Speed-walking like a bat out of hell would look suspicious," Ana pointed out. "And it would help if you stopped looking shiftily over your shoulder like that."

"Right," Christian said, turning back so he looked straight ahead. He reached up and grasped the brim of his hat. "Think I should keep this on?"

"Yeah, it looks good on you," Ana smiled, glancing up at him. "Although I think I look kind of conspicuous in this hat and sunglasses."

Before Christian could say anything, Ana slipped off her sunglasses and hat, and immediately stuffed them into her messenger bag. "How's this?" she asked, combing her fingers through her long chestnut hair.

"Perfect," Christian smiled at her, and she grinned back.

The two of them remained silent as they walked along, and Christian resisted the urge to continuously glance over his shoulder to check for cops or photographers. He was actually thankful for the baseball cap covering up his hair, and the bill which could provide a shield for his face if he kept his head down.

"So…" Ana said after a minute or so of them walking in silence. "Any theories as to why Jack wanted to hide that picture of you two as children?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Christian shook his head. "Honestly, I'm just shocked that he and I had been in the same foster home in Detroit. What are the odds the two of us would both end up in Seattle?"

Ana frowned, looking thoughtful. "Maybe it's not a coincidence? I once heard from someone at the office that Jack moved to Seattle about five years ago, but it wasn't for work - he didn't get a job until about a year after he arrived. I don't know where he came from, but what if it was Detroit? What if the reason he came here was because of you?"

"So you think he's stalking me?" Christian asked, raising his eyebrows. "I mean, he murdered Elena and planned it so it would look like I killed her… the guy sounds like a complete sociopath."

"I can believe it," Ana grimaced. "On some days at work, Jack would get irrationally angry over the smallest things, and he'll start screaming his head off. I can't believe I never put it together before."

Ana paused, still looking deep in thought, and Christian couldn't help but feel his heart go out to her. "These past couple days must have been rough, with you realizing your own boss is a cold-blooded murderer."

"Honestly, I still can't seem to process it," Ana admitted. "All I know is that I want him to pay for all the hurt he's caused… to you, and to Elena, and to all the people at my company who've had to put up with him these past few years."

"What we have to do is find irrevocable proof that Hyde was the one that murdered Elena," Christian said, frowning in thought. "Those emails you found could help our case, though with the entire police force in Hyde's pocket, there's a good chance those emails would 'mysteriously' go missing. Finding Elizabeth could also help us, but she's been off the grid for over a week now. If we can definitively establish Hyde killed Elena and framed me, then we'll have a better shot at proving my innocence."

"That picture I found would have been a good start, but now it's gone," Ana said sadly. "What should we do now?"

Christian thought for a few moments. "My mother has a ton of pictures of me when I was a kid. I could ask her if she has any from when I was in the foster home with the Collier's?"

"That's a great idea," Ana grinned at him. "And maybe ask her if she remembers anything from when you were in that foster home with Jack and that couple."

"I can't imagine how she would remember anything from that time, but it's worth a shot."

The two of them continued to walk in silence for another minute or so, both lost in their thoughts. Christian saw the bridge up ahead, and just as he and Ana stepped onto it, a large group of what looked like college coeds began crossing the bridge from the opposite direction, laughing and joking around with each other. They were coming straight toward Christian and Ana, and Christian immediately became nervous they would see his face and recognize him; he quickly lowered his head so his face stayed hidden behind his baseball cap.

The college kids were still several yards away when Ana suddenly grasped Christian's arm and pulled him toward the stone wall of the bridge, facing out toward the water.

"Put your arm around my waist. Now," Ana whispered from his side. Christian had no idea why she wanted him to do that, but complied nonetheless. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close, both of them facing the bay as the group of college kids passed by without a glance.

Christian realized what Ana had done, and he felt grateful for her quick thinking. To anyone who saw them, they just looked like a normal couple canoodling while admiring the scenery together, and he had managed to keep his face hidden in the process.

"Good thinking," Christian said quietly as the last person passed them by. He glanced over his shoulder toward them. "I don't think anyone recognized me."

"That was the plan," Ana said, looking over her shoulder as well. "It's a social rule that nobody looks directly at a couple doing PDA. I felt we could use that to our benefit."

"Very smart of you," Christian said, turning to look at Ana with a smile on his face, his arm still wrapped around her waist. "You're sure no one will look at us doing a public display of affection?"

"Probably not, considering no one else is on this bridge anymore," Ana pointed out, smiling up at him.

"In that case, why don't we just stay here for a minute? I don't think anyone will bother us here."

"Okay," Ana said, her cheeks blushing slightly.

Christian took his arm off her waist, wishing he didn't have to, before turning his gaze back out over the water. In the distance he could see a couple sailboats drifting leisurely along the bay.

"It's so nice out," Ana commented after a moment, a light breeze drifting through their hair.

"It is," Christian agreed. "It's been days since I've even stepped outside my apartment. I'd almost forgotten how nice a simple summer breeze felt."

"That must be awful, not being able to leave your own home," Ana said sympathetically. "I'm glad you were able to come out today, though."

Christian turned his gaze over to Ana. "Me too."

Ana met his eyes, her blue irises filled with an emotion that made Christian's heart pound. He couldn't quite explain the feeling currently filling his chest… Ana had come into his life in such an unexpected way, and unlike the rest of the world, she didn't look at him like he was a despicable human being.

_If she had found out about my past with Elena, would she still look at me like that?_

Christian honestly didn't want to know.

"Do you really have to go back to your apartment after all this?" he asked after a moment, still gazing into her eyes.

Ana blinked, her cheeks still red. "Um… yeah, I think I do. But don't worry, I'll be back soon enough."

Christian nodded. "I know. I've just enjoyed having you at my place this past day or so, that's all."

Ana didn't say anything, but she continued to look up at him with those big blue eyes. A whole plethora of emotions seemed to cross over her face, and Christian could still feel his heart pounding loudly in his chest. He couldn't say he had much experience with women beyond the submissives he used to contract, but right now he wanted nothing more than to lean forward and kiss Ana, to feel her lips pressed against his.

She continued to gaze up at him, and Christian decided to throw caution into the wind.

_Fuck it._

Slowly, Christian leaned forward until their lips were inches apart, and Ana raised her face up slightly. After a moment of hesitation, he kissed her, the taste of her lips sweet and delectable. Christian moved his hands down so they wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer, and Ana reciprocated his eagerness by placing her hands on his biceps. Christian opened his mouth and deepened their kiss, his heart soaring; he felt he could continue kissing her for the rest of his life.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he slowly pulled away. Christian saw Ana blink open her eyes and gaze up at him again, the slightly dazed look in her eyes making Christian's arousal spike.

Christian wanted to say something, but before he could, a car pulled up behind him. They both turned to see a familiar black Audi pull up and park on the side of the road.

"Taylor," Christian said, turning back to face Ana. He realized his hands were still on her waist, and he reluctantly took them off. "We should go."

Ana cleared her throat before nodding. "Okay."

Christian wished he could say something else, but didn't know what exactly. Instead, he placed his hand on Ana's lower back and led her over to the car.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you all enjoyed that chapter! Ana goes back home and gets a surprise.**

**Please review! And be sure to follow me on Facebook - I go by the username Straw Paj.**


	11. Detection

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! I hope you all enjoy this next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Detection**

"Well, look what the cat dragged in."

The moment Ana opened the door to her apartment, she was greeted by her roommate Kate Kavanagh, who stood in the middle of the room with her arms crossed and her eyebrows raised.

"Good to see you too, Kate," Ana said dully, closing the door behind her. Taylor and Christian had just dropped her off at her apartment building, and while Ana was thankful she no longer had to sit in the car with Christian and his awkward silence, this greeting by her nosy roommate didn't feel much better.

Truthfully, Ana was still processing the kiss she and Christian had shared on that bridge barely thirty minutes ago… without a doubt, it had been the most romantic and spontaneous kiss she'd ever had. She had only ever kissed one other guy before, but she felt those few dates she went on with Jose Rodriguez back in college didn't compare to this connection she currently had with Christian. She had always found the man attractive, but she had just assumed he didn't look at her in a way that could be perceived as desirable. His current situation as a suspected murderer, as well as Ana's situation as being the most sexually inexperienced 22-year-old on the planet, made her pretty sure nothing could ever actually happen between them.

And yet they kissed, and it had been magical. What did it all mean? Ana wasn't sure, and until she and Christian could talk about it, she would remain in limbo waiting to find the answers.

"…Earth to Ana! Are you even listening to me?" Kate asked, waving her hand in front of Ana's face. "I asked you where you've been all day."

"It's a work day. Where do you think I've been?" Ana said evasively, walking into the living room and setting her bags down. Gail had lent her an overnight bag to put yesterday's clothes into, and Ana sincerely hoped Kate wouldn't notice it.

"You expect me to believe you went to work wearing _that_?" Kate asked skeptically, gesturing to the jeans and sweatshirt Ana had on. "Are those even your clothes?"

"Of course they're mine," Ana lied, shrugging casually. "And I already told you, I stayed over at Claire's last night."

"You expect me to believe that?" Kate asked sardonically. "I know you're hiding something, Steele."

Ana felt her heart pound nervously in her chest. "What's with the third degree? Why do you care so much about where I was last night?"

"Because," Kate poked Ana's arm. "I'm you best friend, and you're supposed to tell me when you have a new guy in your life."

Ana raised her eyebrows, and her mind couldn't help but go to Christian. "Uh… what?"

"Oh come on, Steele. I know a walk of shame when I see one," Kate rolled her eyes dramatically. "So what's his name?"

Once again, Ana couldn't help but think of Christian, but she knew she couldn't tell Kate about him. For a lot of reasons. "There's no guy, Kate."

Kate shook her head before turning around and walking back toward the kitchen. "Fine, don't tell me. But I'm going to get you to fess up about him at some point, Steele."

"You do that," Ana said sarcastically, watching Kate gather her coat and purse. "Where are you off to?"

"I have to drop some papers off at my dad's office, and after that I have a date," Kate said brightly, slipping her coat on. "Sorry I can't stick around, it was sort of a last-minute thing."

"No problem," Ana said, feeling secretly thankful Kate wasn't staying to question her further. "Who's the guy? Darren again?"

"No, I broke up with him last week," Kate said, hitching her purse up over her shoulder. "This guy's named Reggie, and he works at Kavanagh Media in the financing department. My dad doesn't know about him, and hopefully he won't find out even after Reggie picks me up for our date from the office."

"Good luck with that," Ana said, amused as she watched Kate make her way to the front door.

"Oh! Before I forget," Kate suddenly said, stopping and turning back toward Ana. "A guy stopped by the apartment a few hours ago looking for you. He said it was important, and that he would be back here this afternoon. That's partly why I was wondering where you'd been all day."

Ana frowned. "Who was the guy?"

"I don't know," Kate shrugged. "He was blonde and kinda scruffy, but like in a sexy way. He told me his name, but I wasn't really listening. He sort of looked like a cop."

Ana felt her face go pale, and her heart began to pound in her chest. "He was a cop? Are you sure?"

"I think so. He had a badge," Kate shrugged. "Do you know who he could be?"

Ana had no idea who that man could have been, but the fact he might be a cop made her instantly nervous. Was he with the Seattle PD? Was he in cahoots with Jack? Why did he come here looking for her? "Um… no, I don't know who he is," she said quietly.

"Well if all cops looked like that, I'd be more keen on breaking the law," Kate giggled. "I'm sure whatever it is, it's not a big deal. I have to get going now, though - see you in a bit."

Kate grabbed her keys before heading out the door, closing it behind her with a snap. Ana simply stood there, trying to absorb what Kate had just told her.

_A police officer had been here looking for me… _

Ana quickly racked her brain, trying to remember if she had had any contact with a blonde police officer in the past day-and-a-half. Despite everything that had happened, Ana couldn't remember meeting anyone who looked like that, let alone a cop…

_Maybe it's just a coincidence he came here?_

It was possible a cop coming here to look for her may have had nothing to do with Jack or Christian. Perhaps a neighbor was looking for a lost dog or something?

Ana went to her purse and grabbed her phone, feeling tempted to call Christian about this. She hovered her finger over the call button, but ultimately couldn't bring herself to do it, knowing that there really wasn't anything to tell him yet.

But what were the odds of a police officer coming to her door after everything that had happened these past couple days? Maybe the police knew something that she didn't… Ana's mind couldn't help but go to many different places, imagining all the possible scenarios as to why this cop would want to talk to her. Ana wished Kate was still here to elaborate about this guy… did he seem angry or threatening? Could he have been Jack in disguise?

For the next few minutes or so, Ana paced the floor in the living room, thinking about what she should do, and before she could reconsider calling Christian again, the doorbell rang. Her heart began to pound loudly in her chest as she turned toward the door, and her palms immediately became clammy. Could that be him?

Ana took a deep, steadying breath before walking silently up to the door and peering through the peephole.

She didn't recognize the man standing there, but he had dark blonde hair and a scruffy beard, just like Kate had described.

_Oh God, it's him._

Ana was sorely tempted to back away slowly from the door and pretend she wasn't home, but she knew he would only come back later. Trying her best to compose herself, Ana quickly wiped her sweaty hands on her legs and took a deep breath, calming her erratic heartbeat.

Trying to appear calm, Ana reached for the doorknob and opened the door.

"Hi. Anastasia Steele?" the man asked expectantly. Despite how nervous Ana was, she couldn't help but agree with Kate that this guy was incredibly handsome. He had blonde hair and a five o'clock shadow over his chiseled jaw, and he wore a white button-down shirt with dark slacks and an empty holster on his hip.

"Um, yeah," Ana said, hoping her voice sounded normal. "Can I help you?"

"My name is Detective Luke Sawyer. I'm working with the Seattle Police Department," Mr. Sawyer said, reaching into his front shirt pocket and pulling out a police badge. "I had come over earlier today to talk to you, but only your roommate was home. I was hoping I could ask you a few questions?"

Ana's heart seemed to drop into her stomach, and her face paled. "About what?"

Mr. Sawyer noticed her trepidation, and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry ma'am, it's nothing bad. May I come in?"

Ana didn't feel particularly reassured, but she stepped aside to let him in nonetheless. "Sure."

Mr. Sawyer stepped into the apartment and Ana closed the door behind him. "Please, take a seat," she offered politely. "Would you like something to drink?"

"No, thank you," Mr. Sawyer smiled, taking a seat on the couch. "I won't be here long."

Ana walked over and sat down on the armchair adjacent to the couch. "So… you're a detective for the Seattle Police Department?"

"Actually, I'm with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, but I'm consulting with the Seattle PD regarding the Elena Lincoln murder case," Mr. Sawyer said. "You've heard of that case, haven't you?"

"Yeah…" Ana said, frowning at him. "Wait, so you're a detective for the FBI?"

"Yup," Mr. Sawyer nodded and smiled. "But don't let that intimidate you. I was hoping to ask you a few questions, if you had some time to spare."

"Oh," Ana said, and she felt her heart pounding in her chest again. "I suppose I could, but I've only heard about that Lincoln murder case in the news. I never knew Elena Lincoln in person, so I'm not sure what new information I could give you."

"Perfectly understandable," Mr. Sawyer said, and he pulled out a pad of paper from his shirt pocket, flipping it open. "However, on Thursday evening, as I understand it, you came to the police department with the intention of submitting evidence for the Lincoln murder case. Is this true?"

_Oh God_. Ana didn't know how he knew that, but she had to find a way to shut this down. "Oh, yeah. I thought I had found something for the Lincoln case, but I decided it wasn't important, so I didn't submit anything."

"So you found something you felt important enough to take to the police, but then immediately changed your mind?" Mr. Sawyer asked, his voice skeptical.

"Basically," Ana said, hoping she didn't sound nervous. "It's just that the woman at the front desk said a lot of people from all over had submitted evidence for the case, and I just figured I wouldn't waste the police's time and resources."

"We appreciate that, but with murder cases like this, any tips we can get would be welcome," Mr. Sawyer assured her. "Could you tell me what it is you found?"

Ana shrugged, hoping she looked like it wasn't a big deal. "Just some emails between my boss and Elena Lincoln. Apparently they knew each other, but that's about all I know."

"Okay," Mr. Sawyer nodded, scribbling something on his notepad. "And what's your boss's name?"

Ana hesitated a split second. "Jack Hyde."

Mr. Sawyer nodded again, still writing on his notepad. "And could you show me these emails you found between your boss and Elena Lincoln?"

Ana bit her lip, unsure if she trusted this guy enough to tell him. "I don't have them with me," she said truthfully.

"Okay," Mr. Sawyer said again, and he turned his gaze back up toward Ana, regarding her. "Is there anything else you'd like to tell me, Ms. Steele?"

Ana hesitated, unsure of what to say. She had no idea if she could trust this guy or if he was in cahoots with Jack. She didn't want to lie to him though… would he be able to tell if she was lying to him?

_What do I do?_

Mr. Sawyer gazed at her for another moment or two before speaking up again: "Can I show you something?"

Ana blinked, surprised at him changing tack so suddenly. "Um, sure."

Mr. Sawyer reached into his pants pocket and pulled out his smartphone, swiping a finger across the screen. "Now, I understand that you chose not to submit any evidence to the Lincoln case when you were at the police station, but I happened to come across this recently, and I wanted to ask you about it."

He held out the phone for Ana, and she looked at the screen, frowning in confusion. On it she saw what looked like CCTV footage, and she realized it was of the police station waiting area. Ana watched herself on the screen moving over to a chair and sitting down, beginning to write on the clipboard. After a few moments, the Ana in the video looked up and saw something offscreen, a frightened look passing over her face, before quickly looking down and lifting the clipboard to cover her head. After a few more moments, she glanced up at something offscreen, set the clipboard down, grabbed her umbrella, and hustled out of there, covering her face as best she could.

Ana didn't look up from the screen, feeling her face flush. She knew Mr. Sawyer could tell from the footage alone that something had frightened her - it was clear as day, and Ana didn't know how to explain her odd behavior.

"Now, Ms. Steele, I hope you know I'm not here to accuse you of anything," Mr. Sawyer reassured her, bringing his phone back. "I came here because I think you do know something about the Lincoln case, but when you went to the police station with your evidence, someone or something scared you off. Am I right?"

Ana glanced down at her hands, trying to compose herself. "I know I looked a bit jumpy in that video, Mr. Sawyer, but I assure you that everything's fine."

Mr. Sawyer leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. "Anastasia… may I call you Anastasia?"

Ana nodded.

"Anastasia, I don't know what your previous experience has been with the Seattle PD, but I promise you that you can trust me. If I can be candid with you, there is a legitimate reason why I was stationed at this precinct and for this particular murder case."

This piqued Ana's curiosity. "What do you mean?"

"Let's just say some of the processes these police officers are taking with this case have caused some raised eyebrows at the federal level," Mr. Sawyer explained. "A surprisingly small amount of investigation has gone into such a high-profile murder case, and there's only a scant amount of paperwork being logged about it. And the fact that Christian Grey is the main suspect is also a huge red flag for me."

Ana raised her eyebrows, hope burgeoning in her chest. "You don't think he did it?"

Mr. Sawyer shook his head. "If I'm speaking off the record, I highly doubt he did it. It doesn't add up at all… a man as rich and powerful as Christian Grey would never plan to kill someone himself. He'd hire someone to do his dirty work for him - someone who he could pay to keep quiet and disappear into the ether. It all just seems a little too convenient that his DNA and fingerprints turned up all over the scene of the crime, almost as if someone wanted us to find it."

"So you think someone might be framing Mr. Grey, and that the Seattle Police Department is in on it?" Ana asked, her eyebrows raised expectantly.

"I'm just exploring all possible options," Mr. Sawyer explained. "When I began investigating this case, I found the CCTV footage of you running out of the precinct, and I wanted to know what had frightened you off. I then found that clipboard you left behind where you had filled out your name, and I managed to find you from that."

Mr. Sawyer paused a moment before continuing, his voice earnest. "If there's anything you want to tell me, Anastasia, please let me know. More than anything, I just want to get to the bottom of this and make sure the right people are held responsible for this crime."

Ana regarded Mr. Sawyer for a moment or two, weighing her options. She still wasn't 100% sure if she could trust him, but something about the way he spoke gave her pause. Since he wasn't technically a part of the Seattle PD, and he seemed skeptical of Christian's involvement in Elena's murder, maybe that meant he could be trusted with the information Ana knew.

Hoping she wouldn't come to regret her decision, Ana decided to take the leap:

"I'm sorry if I'm being a bit cagey," she said apologetically after a moment. "It's just that… what I saw at the station that night made me realize I can't necessarily trust the police with the information I found."

Mr. Sawyer didn't answer, but simply gazed at Ana with expectant eyes. He looked almost eager for her to continue.

"Have you spoken to Christian Grey yet?" Ana asked.

Mr. Sawyer shook his head. "No I haven't. With his team of lawyers and PR people, it's become almost impossible for anyone to get in touch with him."

Ana gave him a small smile. "I think I can help you out with that."

* * *

**A/N: Were any of you expecting Sawyer to turn up as a detective for the FBI? :) Leave a review and let me know!**

**Next chapter, Ana and Sawyer make a trip to Escala. For chapter updates and accompanying pictures, be sure to friend me on Facebook! I go by the username Straw Paj. **


	12. Help

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

**Chapter 12: Help**

**~6:02 pm~**

"I made chicken parmigiana and roasted zucchini for dinner tonight, Mr. Grey," Gail said, walking into the great room. "Would you like a glass of wine with your meal tonight?"

Christian, who had been sitting in the great room facing the floor-to-ceiling window with a glass of whiskey in his hand, looked over at Gail. "No, thank you Gail. That'll be all for tonight."

"Yes sir."

She walked away as Christian turned back toward the window, lifting his glass to his lips. He knew he ought to eat the dinner Gail made, but after the events of today, he didn't feel particularly hungry. Forcing himself to eat had become a habit of his over the past week, however, so he figured he could tough it out.

Taylor had managed to follow Hyde all the way back to Seattle Independent Publishing, and unfortunately he couldn't tell if Hyde had met up with Elizabeth or anyone else. Taylor did get a few pictures of him as well as his car and license plate number, so that was at least something for Welch to go off of.

Ana had also gone back to her apartment, and since then Christian's mind had been filled with thoughts of their kiss on the bridge. He didn't know what had caused him to kiss her like that, but he didn't regret it - whatever was going to happen with him after this investigation and his possible connection with Jack Hyde, he could at least take comfort in the fact that he had taken the leap and made his feelings for Anastasia known. He couldn't put into words how she made him feel, but he knew it was something he had never experienced before. Something he never wanted to let go.

Being with her made him feel… hopeful. Since a week ago, he never thought he'd feel that way again.

"…Mr. Grey?"

Taylor approached Christian in the great room, holding a file folder in his hand. "Welch just faxed this over. He found the real Elizabeth."

Christian set down his whiskey and got to his feet. "What did he find?"

"Quite a bit," Taylor grimaced, handing the folder over. "See for yourself."

Christian took the file and opened it, and was met with a profile picture of Elizabeth… though it didn't look like the Elizabeth he knew. She looked a few years younger, and instead of her usual brown hair with highlights, she had short dark hair with bangs. She wore black liner on her eyes and had on a white tank top; she didn't smile as she stared directly into the camera.

"Eliza Karovsky," Christian read, glancing over the report accompanying the picture. "She's… a private investigator?"

"A former one," Taylor corrected. "And until a couple years ago, she worked as a PI for the Seattle Police Department."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Christian said incredulously, looking back up to Taylor. "She worked for the _police_?"

"Yeah. And honestly, it makes sense," Taylor said, rubbing a hand along his chin. "As a PI, she would have been formally trained in blending in and appearing inconspicuous so as to gather information. And since she had worked for the police, she would have known how to gain access to records that aren't publicly available."

"That explains how she was able to become Elizabeth Daniels," Christian said, frowning in thought as he looked over her file. "Elizabeth Daniels must have been a real girl who had died, and Eliza went in and changed her records so it looked like she herself was Elizabeth Daniels and still alive so as not to arouse suspicion. But how come that Detective Broderick guy didn't recognize her? Unless he's in on this whole thing too?"

"According to Welch, Broderick didn't start working at the Seattle Police Department until about a year ago. He wouldn't have known Eliza, or whatever name she went by, when she was working there," Taylor said. "She likely still has some friends on the police force, however. Once our security team finished running a background check on her, she managed to change Elizabeth Daniels' status back to deceased. I have to admit, what she did was incredibly difficult - she only had about a 24-hour period to pull that off without detection."

"I can believe it," Christian said, continuing to glance over her file. "Here it says her special skills include advanced computer hacking with an emphasis on security systems. So she's tech-savvy, resourceful, and dangerously intelligent… and apparently wants to see me rot in prison. Not a very good combination."

"The fact that she was laid off from the Seattle Police Department is an important detail too," Taylor said. "She must have done something seriously unethical to get herself fired."

"It probably has something to do with her relationship with Jack Hyde," Christian said, frowning darkly. "From what I can tell, the guy sounds like a sick twisted manipulator."

"He's also managed to become buddies with all the cops at the precinct," Taylor added. "If he and Elizabeth used to date like Ana had told us, that must be how he had gotten to know them."

"We need to call Ana and let her know what we found," Christian said, but as soon as he said that, his phone began to buzz from his pocket.

He took his phone out and checked the screen. "Speak of the devil," he said, noticing the caller ID. He pressed Answer before bringing the phone to his ear. "Ana?"

"Christian," Ana greeted him from the other end. "Are you busy right now?"

"Funny you should ask. Welch just faxed over some new information about our dear friend Elizabeth," Christian said, glancing back down at the open file in his hand. "I was just about to call you to see if you wanted to come over and see for yourself."

"I do actually, but there's another reason why I called you up, and I think it might be relevant," Ana said. "An FBI agent came to my door today and said he was working with the Seattle Police Department on the Elena Lincoln murder case."

Christian was instantly on high alert. "What? An FBI agent? Why did he come to see you? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Christian. I promise," Ana assured him. "But he and I have been talking, and some of the stuff he was telling me… I think he agrees with me that there's something fishy going on at the Seattle Police Department. He saw the CCTV footage of me coming into the police department on Thursday, and that's part of the reason why he came to my apartment - to investigate possible corruption in the Elena Lincoln case."

Christian blinked, trying to process this information. "So… he knows about Elizabeth and Jack Hyde?"

"Not yet. I haven't told him what I know, but I suggested he and I come meet you and Taylor at Escala so we can fill him in," Ana said, sounding almost hesitant. "Do you think that would be alright?"

Christian didn't say anything for a moment, feeling wary. He had no idea who this FBI guy was, and didn't feel entirely comfortable bringing him into his home. "I don't know, Ana. Are you sure we can trust this guy?"

"I was nervous about trusting him too, but I really do think he could help us," Ana said, her voice earnest. "Would you be willing to at least hear him out?"

Christian sighed, still feeling a bit nervous, but figuring that if Ana trusted him, Christian could at least give him a shot. "Alright. Both of you come over to Escala as soon as you can. I can text you the elevator codes to the penthouse."

"Thank you Christian," Ana said gratefully. "We'll see you soon."

"Bye Ana."

They hung up, and Christian turned to Taylor, who had been listening to their conversation. "I don't know if you heard, but apparently an FBI agent found Ana and wanted to question her about why she came to the police department on Thursday. They're both coming over to Escala right now so we can fill him in on what we know about Hyde and Elizabeth."

"And you're worried we won't be able to trust him," Taylor asserted, and Christian nodded. "Well, it's tough to say at the moment, but if he's coming here with Ms. Steele we'll be able to assess what his intentions are. Do we know his name?"

"Ana didn't say it," Christian shook his head. "I guess we'll find out soon enough."

The next twenty minutes or so passed by, and Christian ate the dinner Gail had made for him while continuing to look over Elizabeth's - or rather Eliza's - file. Apparently she went by a whole host of fake names, most of them variations of Elizabeth, and Elizabeth Morgan was one she went by the most while working undercover. Apparently, that was how Welch was able to find her as he traced back the origins of her false names. The fact that she was recently hired at SIP also helped him since there was paperwork and records readily available.

Pretty soon, Christian heard the elevator ding with an incoming arrival, and he got up from the breakfast bar to head toward the foyer, ready to meet this FBI agent Ana had told him about.

Christian walked into the foyer and stopped when he saw Ana step out of the elevator… followed by some handsome blonde guy who looked about Christian's age. He was gazing around the opulent penthouse with raised eyebrows, and Christian immediately didn't like him. Mostly because he and Ana had been alone together.

_Who the fuck is this guy?_

"Christian," Ana smiled at him, and Christian could swear he saw her blush. She gestured to the man beside her. "This is the FBI agent I had told you about - Luke Sawyer. Mr. Sawyer, this is Christian Grey."

Sawyer looked at Christian, who gazed back at him with a skeptical frown. Sawyer stepped forward with his hand outstretched. "Mr. Grey… it's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Christian reluctantly took his hand and shook it. "Ana mentioned you're working with the Seattle Police Department on the Elena Lincoln murder case?"

"I am, although as I related to Anastasia earlier, I have some concerns about the standard of practices going on over at the precinct," Sawyer said. "I hope you, me, and Anastasia can talk about what you guys know so far."

Before Christian could say anything, Taylor walked into the foyer and suddenly stopped in his tracks. "Sawyer?"

The others all turned to look at Taylor, who was staring at Sawyer with recognition, his expression stunned. "I can't believe it… is that really you?"

"Sergeant Taylor," Sawyer said disbelievingly, his eyes wide. He then straightened up and raised his hand to his forehead in a salute. "It's good to see you again, sir."

"At ease, soldier," Taylor said, sounding amused, and Sawyer relaxed, bringing his hand down. "It's good to see you again too."

They moved toward each other and clasped hands before giving each other a one-armed hug, clapping each other on the back in the way that men do.

"You guys know each other?" Ana asked, smiling in delight.

"Luke here was in my squadron when we were stationed in Texas," Taylor said, pulling away and grinning at Sawyer. "I never thought I'd see you again, buddy."

"Me neither. I had no idea you were in Seattle, and working for Christian Grey no less," Sawyer said with a grin. "I've lost contact with everyone from my days in the Marines, mostly because of my job. Do you know what happened to the others? Devon and Lucas, and the Melconian twins…?"

"As nice as it must be for you two to go walking down memory lane," Christian said, sounding annoyed. "We have other things we need to discuss… namely about the Elena Lincoln case."

"Of course," Taylor said immediately. "Luke, Ms. Steele - please come in and make yourselves comfortable. Gail has some food and drinks left out from dinner earlier if you two haven't eaten yet. Mr. Grey and I just received a file from Welch that I think you should see."

Sawyer, Ana, and Taylor all made their way into the great room, and Christian followed them, still not feeling totally reassured by Sawyer's presence. Ana seemed to trust him though, and Taylor clearly did too, so Christian supposed he could give this guy a shot.

He didn't like this jealous feeling coursing through his body whenever he looked at Ana and Sawyer together, but for now he knew he just had to deal with it.

* * *

**~Seattle Independent Publishing~**

Jack rubbed his eyes, tired from staring at his computer screen for the past three hours or so. Everyone else had gone home for the day, and the sun had set nearly an hour ago, making the office's fluorescent lights even more jarring than usual.

But Jack still had a lot of work to do. The past week had been very tumultuous, and he'd been neglecting his day job quite a bit as a result. It wouldn't do for Jerry Roach to start tearing into him for not meeting their quarterly projections, so Jack decided to work late tonight in order to save face.

He yawned before checking his watch. It was nearly seven o'clock, and he had about an hour left before the cleaning crew came by. He decided to answer a few more emails before heading home for the day.

_But maybe one more cup of coffee first._

Jack got up and walked out of his office toward the kitchen, annoyed he had to do this himself when Anastasia was usually the one to get him coffee. Claire the receptionist told him she had woken up with a migraine today and that's why she didn't come into work.

_The last thing I need right now is a sick assistant, no matter how useless she might be. _

Jack filled up his coffee mug and walked back toward his office. He passed by the printer near Anastasia's desk, and noticed a piece of paper on the floor near her chair. Rolling his eyes, he walked over so he could toss it in the garbage.

He picked it up and flipped it over to see what was on it… and his blood ran cold in an instant.

It was one of the emails he'd sent to Elizabeth weeks ago. About Christian Grey.

Jack's heart began to pound and his breathing became staggered; without realizing it, his mug slipped from his hand and fell to the floor, coffee spilling everywhere. His mind swirled with all-consuming fear as he stared down at the paper.

_Holy shit._

Someone had found out what he and Elizabeth had done, and had printed out the emails as evidence. He knew it couldn't have been Elizabeth who printed them out - she would never be so stupid as to print out these incriminating emails at work.

_Fuck… has this person gone to the police? _

Jack knew some of his buddies at the precinct would vouch for him if these emails did end up in their hands, but he knew he couldn't trust every single cop. This could be a complete disaster.

Jack clutched the paper tightly, practically smashing it in his fist. Rage began to consume him… who the fuck found these emails? It had to be someone here at SIP, someone who would be willing to go snooping through his private shit…

He looked down at where he'd found the paper, and slowly his eyes moved up to Anastasia's desk.

_Anastasia_

She was the only other person in the office who had access to his emails. He looked down at the date stamp on the paper, and saw it had been printed at 7:03 pm on Thursday. He'd been out of the office that day, and he'd asked Anastasia to monitor his emails.

It had to be her. There was simply no other explanation.

His own fucking assistant was going to ruin everything he had worked so hard for.

* * *

**A/N: Ooh this can't be good… please leave a review and tell me what you think!**

**Be sure to follow me on Facebook for chapter updates and accompanying pictures! I go by the username Straw Paj.**


	13. Camaraderie

**A/N: Thank you all for your lovely reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

**Chapter 13: Camaraderie**

"So… basically, Elizabeth isn't actually called Elizabeth, and Jack is probably the one manipulating her?"

An hour had passed by, and Sawyer and Ana were both fully caught up on what Christian and Taylor had learned about Elizabeth from Welch's background check. The four of them were silently digesting the information they had heard; Ana sat at the breakfast counter while Christian stood near her, his arms crossed in front of his chest as he gazed down at the floor. Taylor paced the floor of the great room, frowning in contemplation, while Sawyer sat perched on the arm of the couch, his elbows on his knees.

"Yeah, it looks that way," Taylor said, answering Ana's summation. "It's possible Elizabeth is the mastermind of this whole scheme, but considering the fact that Hyde has some sort of past connection with Mr. Grey, it's more likely he's the one orchestrating all of this."

"Do we know yet what Christian's connection is with Jack?" Ana asked, turning to Christian. "Did you get in touch with your mother?"

Christian shook his head. "I called my dad earlier today, and it turns out my mother and sister both left for France this morning. They're vacationing there for the next few weeks, and honestly that might be for the best… all this negative media attention coming at me has taken a toll on my whole family. It's probably best they stay away until this all blows over."

Ana nodded sympathetically. "That's understandable. Although I wish your mother could have provided some information about that foster home you were at."

"I can give her a call once her plane lands," Christian assured her.

"The more pressing question is whether or not we can take our information to the police," Taylor said, turning to Sawyer.

Sawyer didn't say anything for a moment before letting out a sigh, bringing a hand up to rub his forehead. "I'm afraid you might be right about the Seattle PD not working in the best interest of solving this case. The lack of effort or investigation into this murder goes beyond simple incompetence… either the police are in on it, or Hyde is 'suggesting' they don't look too closely at the available evidence."

"Whatever it is, do you think it warrants a federal investigation?" Taylor asked.

"Without a doubt, but we can't necessarily pin down Hyde or Elizabeth as the perpetrators," Sawyer said. "At least not right away."

"Can't you at least bring your concerns about Jack and Elizabeth to the FBI?" Ana asked Sawyer.

"I could, if I have evidence," Sawyer said, glancing up at Christian. "Do you still have those emails Ana gave you?"

Christian didn't like how Sawyer referred to Ana by her nickname, but decided not to push the issue. "Yeah. Do you need them?"

"It would be best if I had them to present to the Feds. Also, I should look over them first so I know what exactly Jack and Elizabeth have been planning."

"I have the login information for Jack's work email if you need that," Ana suggested.

"Thank you Ana, that would be helpful," Sawyer smiled at her. "But for now, just the existing hard copies should suffice."

"They're in my study," Christian said, his voice stiff. "I'll show you… come with me."

He turned on his heel and walked down the hallway, and Sawyer glanced at Ana and Taylor before getting to his feet and following him.

Christian didn't say anything as he led the way to his office, and Sawyer silently trailed after him. Once they arrived in his study, Christian closed the door behind them.

"You know, Ana took a huge risk coming to me with those emails she found," Christian said, walking over to his desk. "And she took another big risk trusting you and bringing you here to meet me."

Sawyer blinked, looking surprised. "I'm aware, Mr. Grey."

"I'm extremely grateful that Anastasia came to me with what she found, and I just want to be sure she was right to risk trusting you," Christian said, giving him a onceover.

Sawyer raised his eyebrows. "In other words, _you _don't trust me."

"I was falsely accused of murder - forgive me if I'm a bit distrustful of strangers' intentions," Christian scowled at him. "I could see you and Anastasia acting all chummy earlier in the great room. How do I know what your real intentions are for getting involved in this case?"

"'Real intentions'?" Sawyer repeated, frowning at Christian as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I don't know what you're insinuating with that, Mr. Grey, but the only reason I'm here is to find out the truth about Elena Lincoln's murder and hold the perpetrators accountable."

"Even so… there are some perks to working as a renegade detective for the FBI, wouldn't you say?" Christian pointed out.

"I suppose there would be, if I wasn't a happily married renegade detective for the FBI," Sawyer lobbed right back, lifting up his left hand and showing off his gold band. "Can we please cut the charade so I can see the emails now?"

Christian hesitated, still feeling reluctant to trust him, but decided to give him a chance regardless. "Here," he finally said, picking up Anastasia's leather satchel and handing it to him. "All the printed emails should be in there."

Sawyer took the bag from him. "Thank you," he said, opening it up and glancing at the file folder inside. "Unless you guys still need me here, I'll head back home to read these over. Best not to risk bringing these to the precinct."

Christian didn't say anything, and Sawyer closed the bag before looking back up at him. "You can trust me, Mr. Grey," he assured him, his voice firm. "I'm sorry about everything you've been through over the past week, and I wish we didn't have to meet under these circumstances. But I'm your best shot at helping you bring Hyde and Elizabeth to justice and clear your name of any wrongdoing. If you ever need any reassurance of my character, just ask Taylor."

Christian raised his eyebrows. "I would trust Jason Taylor with my life. You're lucky he's here so he can vouch for you."

Sawyer gave him a small grin. "Perhaps luck is starting to turn in your favor, Mr. Grey."

"Maybe." Although Christian hardly felt very lucky with this whole situation, he decided not to say anything about it. "And you can call me Christian."

"Christian," Luke conceded. "You can call me Sawyer - everyone does."

"Sawyer… can you give me or Taylor a call once you've contacted the Feds?" Christian reached down and plucked one of his personal business cards from a small stack on his desk.

"Absolutely," Sawyer said, accepting the card from him.

The two of them then made their way out of the office and toward the great room, where Ana and Taylor were still waiting.

"Unless there's anything else you guys wanted to discuss, I think I'm going to head out now," Sawyer said, Ana's satchel in hand as he made his way toward the foyer.

"I'll head down to the lobby with you," Taylor said. "Did you take your own car here?"

"Yeah, I drove here with Anastasia," Sawyer said, turning to Ana. "Do you need a ride back to your apartment?"

"I can take her," Christian spoke up before Ana could, his voice firm. Ana just looked at Christian in surprise.

Sawyer gave Christian a small nod. "Alright. I'll be in touch about the emails."

He and Taylor made their way toward the elevators in the foyer, and Ana turned toward Christian.

"Christian, you don't need to take me back to my apartment," she said. "I can just go back with Sawyer, it's not that big of a deal."

"It's fine Ana," Christian insisted with a small smile. "I don't mind. Incidentally, have you eaten dinner yet?"

Ana shook her head. "No. I just had a granola bar when I got home a few hours ago."

"You need to eat, Anastasia," Christian chided. "Mrs. Jones made plenty of food for dinner, I can grab you a plate."

"With all this crazy stuff going on with Jack and Elizabeth, I've hardly had an appetite all weekend," Ana mused as she followed Christian into the kitchen.

"Regardless of what's going on, you really shouldn't skip meals," Christian insisted, turning to her once they reached the breakfast counter. "It isn't worth it to go hungry. Trust me, I know what it's like to go without food for extended amounts of time."

Ana gazed at him with surprise and concern. "You do?"

"Yeah," Christian said, his voice slightly more subdued. "I already mentioned to you I'm adopted, right?"

"Yeah," Ana said, sitting on one of the stools at the breakfast counter.

"Well, my biological mother died when I was only four years old," Christian explained, walking over to the plate warmer on the counter. He picked up the plate of Gail's chicken parmigiana sitting there and brought it over to the breakfast counter. "She was a prostitute addicted to crack, and she would often forget to feed me or take care of me when she was out selling her body for drugs."

Ana looked horrified as she brought a hand to her mouth. "Oh my God Christian, that's awful! I'm so sorry."

Christian shrugged slightly, taking two forks out of the cutlery drawer. He was tempted to bring up the pimp and the fact that he, Christian, had been left with his mother's dead body for days before they were found, but he didn't want to put her off her food. "It was what it was, I guess. We can't choose where we start out in life, and honestly, I feel very fortunate to have ended up with the Grey's here in Seattle."

"I'll say," Ana insisted. "What you've done with your life is truly incredible, Christian. By anyone's standards it's incredible, but especially considering where you started out in life… it's truly inspirational."

She sounded so sincere when she spoke, and Christian couldn't help but smile at her. "Thank you, Ana. Though it's hard to feel very lucky at the moment, with everything that's been going on."

"I understand, but all of us are here working to help you clear your name," Ana said fervently. "This won't last forever. I have faith it won't."

"I hope you're right."

The two of them began eating Gail's delicious chicken dinner while making small talk; since Christian had already eaten, he made sure to leave most of the food for Ana, and thankfully she ate a majority of what was on the plate. Pretty soon, Taylor came up from the lobby and wished both Christian and Ana goodnight before heading back to his quarters.

"That was delicious," Ana grinned once the plate was cleared, and she licked her fork clean. "My compliments to the chef."

"I'll be sure to let Gail know," Christian smiled, taking their dirty dishes to the sink. "Would you like some dessert? I think there's some vanilla ice cream in the freezer."

"I'll never say no to ice cream," Ana said eagerly, and Christian laughed. He brought the small carton of ice cream and two spoons over to the breakfast counter so they could share.

"Cheers," Ana said, lifting her spoonful of ice cream into the air. "To a fun Friday night."

Christian grinned, clinking his own spoon with hers. "So this is what you consider a fun Friday night?"

"Yeah," Ana shrugged, eating her ice cream. "With all the crazy stuff that's happened in the past 24 hours, it's nice to kind of wind down and not do anything too crazy."

"I couldn't agree more," Christian conceded. "So what do you consider to be a normal fun Friday night then?"

"Not much actually. I'm kind of a homebody," Ana shrugged, looking a bit embarrassed. "My roommate teases me about it all the time, but I'm happy to just spend an evening curled up with a good book and a cup of tea rather than going out and partying."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Christian smiled at her. "I would actually agree with you that a quiet night in is a great way to spend an evening. If I don't have a business dinner or gala to attend, I usually prefer to spend it at home."

Christian went quiet after he said that, realizing that his days of attending fancy outings were probably over and done with now. The two of them ate ice cream in silence for a few more moments.

"So do you have to go back to your apartment after this?" Christian asked, licking his spoon clean.

Ana shrugged. "I mean, I don't know if I have to. Kate's out on a date, so she likely won't be back tonight… it's even possible she'll be gone all weekend."

"Really?" Christian asked, and he couldn't fight the smile appearing on his face. "In that case, would you like to spend the night here again?"

Ana blinked, looking at him in surprise. Christian saw her cheeks go pink. "Really?"

"Yeah," Christian said. "I enjoy having you here, and now neither of us will have to spend the night alone."

Ana bit her lip as she glanced down at the breakfast counter. Her face was still bright pink. "I'm sorry, I'm so bad at this," she said, letting out a small giggle.

"What is it?" Christian asked, unable to help smiling at her shyness.

Ana shrugged. "All of this," she said, looking back up at him. "Talking with you… flirting with you… I'm so awkward, and you always seem so smooth and cool while I feel like I'm fumbling over my words. Kate always laughs at me for being this way around guys I like. It's probably why I'm…"

Ana paused, not finishing her sentence as she looked away, still blushing. Christian moved around the breakfast counter so he was standing in front of her. "Why you're what?" he asked, taking her hand in his own and squeezing gently.

Ana looked down at their joined hands before turning her gaze up to Christian's face. "Why I'm still a virgin," she muttered, turning away, embarrassed.

Christian felt momentarily stunned, not expecting her to say that. _She's a virgin?_ This amazing, sweet, sexy girl who Christian couldn't stop thinking about was still a virgin? This meant no man had ever touched her before… Christian's shock dissipated and was replaced with excitement at the idea of having her, imagining what it would be like to be her first…

_Don't get ahead of yourself, Grey._

"Ana," Christian said in a comforting tone, and Ana looked up at him. "There's nothing wrong with still being a virgin. If you're not ready to have sex yet, then that's perfectly fine. You don't have to be ashamed of that."

Ana smiled gratefully up at him. "I don't know if I'm ashamed necessarily, but I was just worried you'd have certain… expectations of me, especially since I know you've been with more experienced women in the past."

Christian knew she was referring to Elizabeth, and he didn't want to think about her right now. "I'd much rather spend my time with you," he assured her. "No matter how you want to spend time together is fine by me. I promise I don't have any expectations for tonight, or any other night you want to stay over."

Ana smiled up at him again. "So… would you be okay watching a movie tonight?"

Christian couldn't help but smile at her eagerness. "Sounds perfect."

He reached up to take her chin in his hand, brushing his thumb along her lower lip. Ana gazed up at him with a strong emotion swimming in her blue eyes, and Christian couldn't resist leaning down to capture her lips with his own, his hand moving over to cup her cheek.

Ana kissed him back with fervor, and she looked almost disappointed when he pulled away; her eyes fluttered open to gaze up at him, and his hand still remained on her cheek.

"There should still be some clothes in the guest bedroom," Christian said, brushing his thumb along her cheek before reluctantly pulling it away. "Go change into some pajamas, and I'll meet you in the media room in a few minutes. Sound good?"

Ana smiled at him, her eyes bright. "Okay," she said quietly.

She walked past him toward the hallway leading to the guest bedroom, and Christian couldn't resist watching her until she disappeared around the corner.

* * *

**A/N: Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I'm going to be travelling all over the state of Wisconsin this weekend to visit family, so I likely won't have an update by my usual time next week. I'll be sure to post a teaser to Facebook as soon as I'm able.**

**Please leave a review and tell me what you think! Next chapter, Ana and Christian spend some time together before Ana has to go to work on Monday. **


	14. Anger

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

**Chapter 14: Anger**

If someone had told Ana earlier this week that she would be spending her weekend away with a man she had just met and who had been accused of murder, she probably would have thought they were crazy. And yet, despite everything, she had agreed to spend Saturday and Sunday with Christian at Escala. Kate had texted her to let her know she would be at Reggie's all weekend, so Ana didn't feel guilty about staying at Escala for the next few days. With everything she and Christian had been through over the past day and a half, she knew that she could trust him, and she felt comfortable staying with him this weekend while Kate was off doing her own thing.

Ana and Christian had also agreed not to have sex yet, which Ana was thankful for since she didn't want to deal with the pressure of giving up her virginity. It's not that she didn't want to have sex with Christian, since she was very much attracted to him (and him to her as far as she could tell), but with it being her first time, it was just a lot of pressure to deal with. Now, without expectations of sex, she could actually look forward to spending the next few days with Christian, and based on the expression on his face when she agreed to stay with him at Escala, Christian was excited about it too.

On Friday night, Christian and Ana spent time together in the media room watching the movie _Captain America_. Ana had seen it already, but she was happy to watch it again with Christian, who said he'd never even seen a Marvel movie before. They sat cuddled together underneath a blanket, and Ana's head rested on Christian's shoulder as they munched on a bowl of popcorn. They paid attention to the movie for the first forty-five minutes or so, but after that they disengaged from the film for a bit to kiss and grope each other like two high schoolers out on a date.

Of all the movie-watching experiences Ana had had in her life, she liked this one the best.

They ended up falling asleep together on the couch in the media room, and they didn't wake up until late Saturday morning. Christian seemed confused he had slept in so late.

"I usually don't sleep this well," he said in a surprised voice, blinking open his eyes and rubbing them blearily. "I never sleep through the night, much less on a couch of all places."

"Your body probably needed the rest," Ana muttered, yawning. She had fallen asleep on his shoulder, with his arm resting along the couch behind her head.

"Or maybe because you were here beside me," Christian smiled, nuzzling into her hair, and Ana couldn't help but giggle softly. "What do you want to do today?"

"I don't know. Maybe first we get dressed and eat breakfast," Ana suggested.

"Good plan," Christian agreed, and he kissed her forehead before helping her to her feet.

Once they had gotten changed, both of them went to the kitchen, and Ana ended up making breakfast for the both of them - scrambled eggs and hashbrowns with sausage links, and coffee and orange juice to drink. After their delicious meal, Christian suggested they go back to the media room and find a game to play, and Ana eagerly agreed.

They ended up finding a few games, including an old chess board, and spent the next couple hours or so having fun playing various board and card games. The two of them chatted the whole time - Ana talked about growing up with her stepdad, and Christian talked about his own family, including his two siblings who were also adopted like him. Soon, the day turned into night again, and Ana and Christian finished up their evening watching another movie while cuddled under a blanket on the couch.

On Sunday morning, Christian woke up Ana before the sun had even risen and said he had a surprise for her. The surprise ended up being gliding in the outskirts of the city: Taylor was able to sneak them both out of the Escala building and into Christian's SUV before driving them out to the airfield. Once there, Christian explained to Ana that he had been gliding for years, and her excitement was palpable as Christian buckled the two of them into their seats. The small plane then began pulling them down the runway before lifting them into the air.

After their amazing gliding session - where Ana insisted they go back up in the air two more times - they headed back to Escala with Taylor. However, the day was over halfway done now, and thoughts of Monday began to loom. Christian disagreed with Ana about whether or not she should go into work tomorrow, where Jack Hyde would be.

"It would look suspicious if I didn't go to work tomorrow, Christian," Ana insisted. "I already missed Friday."

"Who cares how it looks? We know that Hyde is dangerous, and you need to stay as far away from him as possible," Christian said angrily. "Who knows what he's capable of?"

"I and about fifty other people at SIP work alongside him every day," Ana pointed out. "What could he possibly do to hurt me in the middle of a workday?"

"I don't know, and I don't want to find out," Christian said seriously. "We know what Hyde's done, and what he's capable of - your safety is extremely important to me Anastasia."

"I know," Ana said quietly, and reached forward to take his hand in her own. "How about this: Taylor or one of your security guys can take me to work and be stationed outside SIP all day, just in case. I'll shoot them a text every hour to check in or to let them know if I need help."

Christian grimaced, looking marginally comforted at that prospect, though he clearly still didn't like the fact she was going to go to work. "I don't know Ana…"

"Look, I know it's not necessarily safe to go to SIP," Ana admitted. "But if I take precautions beforehand, maybe I could take the opportunity to find out some more information about Jack or Elizabeth while I'm there that could potentially help Luke with his investigation. It's worth a shot."

Christian didn't say anything for a moment or two before letting out a sigh. "I don't like this."

"Me neither," Ana admitted. "But I want to do this if it helps clear your name."

Christian frowned as he gazed down at her, and next moment he had taken her in his arms, holding her close before pressing his lips to hers in a long, romantic kiss. Ana felt him conveying all his feelings for her into his kiss, and Ana couldn't help but kiss him back in the same manner. She knew he was scared for her, and honestly she was scared too, but this was something she knew she had to do.

Christian finally broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against Ana's, his eyes still closed, and Ana's heart pounded in her chest. Despite the fact they agreed not to have sex this weekend, Ana knew she would love nothing more than to give herself to this wonderful man someday soon.

* * *

**~Monday~**

"You're sure you have my phone number?"

Taylor had pulled the car up to SIP, staying on the opposite side of the road and over a hundred yards away from the building so as to remain conspicuous. Ana, who sat in the passenger seat, nodded.

"Yes, I have your number, and I'll remember to check in with you every hour."

"Good," Taylor nodded back. "Be careful in there, alright?"

"I will," Ana agreed. "And remember to keep Christian updated too."

Taylor gave a wry chuckle. "He'd probably throttle me if I didn't."

Christian had wanted to come along with Taylor to help keep watch outside SIP, but Taylor insisted it was too dangerous. If Jack or anyone else recognized Christian, it could blow their cover and cause a lot of problems. It would be best if it was just Taylor staking out SIP, and Christian eventually agreed, albeit reluctantly.

Ana opened the door and stepped out of the car, glancing back at Taylor. "See you later."

"Have a good day, Ms. Steele."

Ana closed the car door before heading across the street toward SIP's front doors, hitching her purse up over her shoulder as she went. She walked at a normal pace, but her heart pounded a frenzied rhythm in her chest, causing her hands to go clammy. She felt extremely nervous to go into the same building of someone she now knew to be a murderer, but she forced herself to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

She stepped through the front doors and was greeted by Claire at the front desk. Ana greeted her back, but didn't stop to chat as she made her way toward the main office where her desk was.

Ana set her things down on her desk and powered on her computer, glancing nervously over toward Jack's office. From where she stood she couldn't see if he was at his desk, but the light on indicated he was there.

_Oh God, he's actually here._

Ana took a deep breath as she sat down in her chair and logged onto her computer, knowing she would have to check in with Jack soon as was part of her morning routine. She first glanced over her emails and forwarded a few to the editors they were meant to go to, and once she couldn't stall anymore, got to her feet and walked over to Jack's office, her heart hammering.

He sat at his desk as usual, but he wasn't working on his computer. He had his head down and his palm on his forehead, elbow propped up on the desk. His other hand gripped the edge of the desk, his knuckles white as if he was gripping the wood tightly. He looked deep in thought.

Ana cleared her throat, and Jack glanced up. She might have been imagining it, but he looked almost gaunt, like he hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in days. His face was pale, and dark circles had formed under his eyes; his pupils seemed to pierce her own as he stared directly at her. Ana swallowed, her heart pounding in her throat.

"Good morning, Jack," she said politely, clearing her throat. "Would you like a cup of coffee?"

Jack didn't answer immediately. He stared at Ana in silence for a long moment, making her uncomfortable. "Good morning, Anastasia," he finally said, ignoring her question. He gave her a smile, though to Ana it almost looked creepy. "I hope you're feeling better today."

"I am, thank you," Ana said quietly. "So… a cup of coffee?"

"Yes please," Jack said, still with that same weird smile. "Black, as usual."

Ana nodded before wordlessly turning and heading toward the kitchen, taking a deep breath before letting it all out. Jack was behaving rather strangely it seemed, but Ana couldn't be sure if something was actually off with him, or it was her own imagination.

Ana fetched Jack's cup of coffee and set it on his desk in front of him before heading back to her own desk. When she sat down, she looked up and noticed Jack had gotten out of his seat and walked to the doorway of his office. They locked eyes, and Jack's gaze stayed on Ana for a moment or two with an unreadable expression on his face before he grasped the door in his hand and slowly closed it with a quiet snap, locking it after a moment.

Feeling an odd chill settle in her chest, Ana turned back to her computer, unsure if she'd be able to focus on any work today.

* * *

As expected, the workday dragged by. Ana was constantly on edge, regularly glancing over at Jack's closed office door to make sure he didn't come out. She texted Taylor every hour just as she promised, telling him all was fine and she was okay. She didn't relate to him her concerns about Jack's odd behavior, though she knew she might have to eventually. A part of her honestly hoped it was all in her head.

_I wish I had stayed at Escala with Christian._

Ana was careful never to go anywhere alone throughout the day, even to the bathroom. Whenever she walked somewhere else to the office, she could sense someone walking behind her, and when she would turn around, she noticed Jack there. Without a word, he would quickly veer off in a different direction when he saw her looking at him, pretending to go do something else. It was weird, and it constantly put Ana on edge.

The afternoon went by painfully slowly, but finally five o'clock rolled around, and Ana felt almost desperate to get out of here. She logged off and shut down her computer before grabbing her coat.

"Heading out?"

Ana almost jumped as she turned around, noticing Jack stood right behind her.

"Jack," Ana greeted him, her heart pounding nervously in her chest. "Um... yeah I am."

Jack gave her a rather creepy smile, the dark circles under his eyes seeming to become more pronounced than before. "I'll walk out with you."

"No, that's okay," Ana said, her mind screaming for him to get away. "I'll be fine walking out by myself."

"But I insist," Jack said firmly, taking a step toward her. He reached forward and grasped Ana's wrist in his hand, squeezing tightly, and Ana felt her heartbeat skyrocket.

_I need to get out of here_.

The others in the office were all heading out the door, none of them noticing Jack and Ana by her desk. Ana was preparing to yank her hand free and scream for help when she heard her name:

"Ana?"

Hannah had approached her desk, obviously ready to leave for the day. Jack immediately dropped Ana's wrist, and Ana moved away from him; her coat in hand, she quickly picked up her purse and hurried over to Hannah so the two of them could leave together.

"Is everything alright?" Hannah asked quietly as they walked away, glancing over her shoulder at Jack. "Did Jack do something to you?"

Ana shook her head, still feeling her heart pound in her chest. "I just want to get out of here."

Hannah didn't say anything as the two of them walked across the front lobby and out the door. Ana immediately noticed Taylor's car where he had parked earlier this morning, and she said a quick goodbye to Hannah before hurrying across the street toward it.

"Ms. Steele," Taylor greeted when Ana opened the passenger side door and got inside. He frowned, noticing her pale face. "Is everything alright?"

"It was Jack. He…" Ana hesitated, shaking her head and closing her eyes. "Just take me back to Escala. Please?"

"Of course," Taylor said, turning on the ignition.

Ana took a deep breath, steadying her heartbeat as Taylor drove away. Something was clearly going on with Jack, and Ana realized it was too dangerous to go back to SIP, despite her insistence to Christian this morning that she would be okay. Jack was clearly unstable, and she felt too afraid to be around him anymore.

Ana was now resolved to not go back to SIP until this was all over with. She would stay where it was safest… at Escala, with Christian.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you all enjoyed that! Next chapter, Ana goes back to Escala.**

**Please review! And be sure to follow me on Facebook for pictures and updates - I go by the username Straw Paj.**


	15. Love

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

**Chapter 15: Love**

_**Bringing Ms. Steele back to Escala ASAP. Appears distressed. ETA 10 minutes.**_

That was the text Taylor had sent to Christian a few minutes ago, and Christian had been pacing the floor of the great room ever since. He desperately wanted to know why Ana was upset, but he didn't want to text Taylor while he was driving. Whatever the reason was, Christian knew it had to be about Jack Hyde.

_I never should have let her go into work today._

Christian had managed to get in touch with his mother today, but it didn't yield very much new information about Hyde. Grace remembered the Collier family and the other foster boy staying with them, but she couldn't remember his name. However, she did remember at one point he had become extremely angry to the point of violence when he learned that Christian was going to be adopted. He had hit Christian in the head with a lamp before grabbing him and throwing him to the ground, his logic for doing that apparently being if Christian looked too bruised and bloodied, his adoptive parents wouldn't want him anymore. Mrs. Collier had to lock Jack in his room so he wouldn't hurt anyone else, and Christian had sported a large purple bruise on his cheek for over a week before the Grey's took him home.

Christian vaguely remembered that happening, but he had been physically abused so often at that point in his life he wasn't too upset by it. He had left with the Grey's, and had completely forgotten about Jack once he was gone, but apparently Jack had remembered him.

Could it be that Jack had carried around an intense hatred and resentment toward Christian for all these years? Jack had most likely been a troubled child, passed around by the foster system and having no stability in his life… it was no surprise he was practically a sociopath in the making.

_God I hope Ana is alright._

Sawyer had called earlier today, saying he hadn't been able to convince his buddies over at the FBI to look into Jack Hyde or the Elena Lincoln murder case yet, but assured Christian he would keep trying. Christian hated this waiting game, but knew there really wasn't anything he could do about it.

The elevator doors suddenly dinged with someone's arrival, and Christian hurried toward the foyer. Taylor and Ana both stepped out of the elevator, Ana looking pale and nervous. Christian immediately rushed over to her.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Christian asked urgently, taking her into his arms. She immediately wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him close.

"I'm okay," Ana assured him, resting her cheek against her shoulder.

"Ms. Steele explained to me in the car that Hyde had been making her feel uncomfortable all day," Taylor spoke up. "He was watching her and following her around the office, and before she could leave at five o'clock, he approached her at her desk and grabbed her arm."

Christian clenched his jaw, feeling rage build up in his chest. "He grabbed her?"

"My friend Hannah walked in before he could do anything else," Ana said. "I was able to get out of the office with her without arousing suspicion. I don't want to go back there, Christian."

"I won't let you, baby," Christian said, pressing his lips to her hairline. "I wished you hadn't gone at all today, I was so afraid Hyde would do something to you. Do you think he knows what you know about him?"

"It's possible. He's never behaved this strangely around me before," Ana said nervously. "I don't know how he could have found out."

"I don't know either, but you're not going back to SIP again. It's too dangerous," Christian insisted.

Ana nodded. "I won't go back there again, at least while this whole case is still going on. Have you heard from Sawyer yet?"

"Yeah, but apparently he's had no luck yet getting the FBI involved in this case," Christian said. "We'll have to keep waiting."

Ana nodded silently, and Christian hugged her tighter. He saw out of the corner of his eye Taylor walk out of the foyer toward his quarters, giving them some privacy.

"Do you want something to eat? I can have Gail whip up something for dinner," Christian suggested, finally pulling away from her.

"Maybe later," Ana said. "I'm not feeling very hungry at the moment. It's been a long day."

"How about some wine then?" Christian offered, and Ana nodded gratefully. He led her over to the couch in the great room before making his way to the kitchen, grabbing two wine glasses and a bottle of Sauvignon blanc. He poured two glasses and brought them back into the great room.

"Thank you," Ana said, accepting the glass he offered her and taking a long sip.

"You're very welcome," Christian gave her a small smile, sitting beside her with his own glass of wine. "Do you want to tell me everything Hyde did today to upset you?"

Ana drained the rest of her glass before setting it down on the coffee table. "Taylor pretty much summed it all up. He'd been behaving strangely all day, giving me creepy looks and following me around the office wherever I went. And then at the end of the day he grabbed my arm."

She paused, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, and Christian set his wineglass down on the table before placing a comforting hand on her lower back. Ana then surprised him by turning and throwing her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

"I hated being there at the office with him," she whispered, and Christian wrapped his arms around her waist. "All I could think about was coming back here to you."

Christian felt his heart pounding in his chest, and an unknown emotion filling his body as he held her close. The fact that she wanted to be with him as much as he wanted to be with her thrilled him in a way he never knew before. He absolutely hated the idea of Hyde making her uncomfortable… he hated that man already for what he and Elizabeth had done to destroy Christian's life, but right now he wanted to kill the fucker for even thinking of putting his hands on Ana.

Christian brought a hand up to place on the back of Ana's head, running his fingers over her hair; he slid his palm down so it cradled the side of her head, and she pulled her face away from him so she could gaze up into his eyes. An unreadable emotion swam in her beautiful blue irises, and Christian couldn't resist leaning forward and pressing his lips to hers in a slow, deliberate kiss.

She tasted heavenly. After over eight hours of being alone in this apartment without her, wishing she would come back to him, here she was - wanting him, needing him. She said that she wanted to be here with him, and Christian wanted nothing more than to have her right here, in his arms.

After several long moments, Christian slowly pulled away. Ana's eyes fluttered open to look up at him again.

"I want you, Christian."

Christian froze at the sound of her soft words, almost unsure if he heard her correctly. "What?"

"I want you," she repeated, still gazing at him in earnest. Her hands slid down to the nape of his neck and her fingers tangled in his hair, causing goosebumps to erupt all over his skin. "Right now… I want you."

"Are you sure?" Christian whispered, staring imploringly into her eyes. "Because I told you before, I don't have any expectations from you regarding sex."

"I know," Ana assured him. "I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it. I'm ready Christian… I want you to be my first."

Christian closed his eyes, absorbing her words and feeling himself get impossibly hard. How was this beautiful, intoxicating woman able to disarm him so easily? "I really care about you Ana," he whispered. "But I want you to be sure. I feel like there's still so much we don't know about each other. So much you don't know about my past…"

"None of that matters right now, Christian," Ana said insistently. "Who you were before I knew you, before all of this happened, doesn't matter to me. So much has changed for you and me in the last few days, I don't feel like we're the same people anymore. Don't you think so too?"

Christian didn't say anything, but couldn't help but silently agree. He _was _a different person from the man who had lived in solitude for years inside his ivory tower, and who had contracted submissives to join him in his playroom. He knew he never wanted Ana to know about his past with BDSM or with Elena, and for now maybe he didn't need to tell her every dirty secret from his past.

For now, they could just be together.

Christian leaned forward and captured Ana's lips with his own once again, kissing her with a renewed passion. Ana kissed him back with equal fervor, gripping his hair even tighter with her fingers, and Christian felt his heart pound in his chest.

_She's so beautiful._

Christian didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her slender waist and pull them both to their feet; he picked her up so her legs wrapped around his waist, neither of them breaking their kiss. Ana's fingers slipped out of Christian's hair as her arms wrapped securely around his neck, holding him close.

"You are intoxicating, Anastasia," Christian whispered, pressing his lips along her jawline, loving the feel of her soft skin against his lips. "I can't begin to tell you what you do to me."

"Then show me," Ana whispered breathlessly, tilting her head back so he would continue his ministrations.

With a sensual growl, Christian turned and began to walk them toward the hallway leading toward his bedroom, continuing to kiss and nip along her jaw. Ana moaned, causing Christian's heart to pound even harder in his chest.

Somehow, Christian made it to his bedroom door without bumping into anything, and he carried Ana inside before kicking the door closed behind him. He walked over to the bed and deposited her at the base of it, causing her to giggle. She sat up and ran her hands along the comforter, smiling down at it.

"I like your room," she said, looking up and gazing at her surroundings. "It's very you. Your bed's a lot bigger than the one in your guest room."

"Is that so?" Christian smirked, walking forward and leaning over the bed so he was hovering over her, his arms on either side of her. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to accommodate you with proper sleeping arrangements, Ms. Steele. Is there anything I can do to fix it?"

Ana giggled again, her eyes dancing with amusement as she smiled up at him. "Well… I guess you could let me sleep with you in your king-size bed. Would that be acceptable?"

"Absolutely," Christian gave her a seductive grin, and he leaned forward to capture her lips again in a kiss. Ana kissed him back, and soon the two of them were lying horizontally on the bed, Ana on her back and Christian on top of her, their limbs all tangled around each other. Christian ran his hands along her waist before sliding one hand up to lightly grasp her breast over her shirt. Ana gasped against his lips.

"Yes," she whispered as Christian ran his thumb over her nipple.

"You are so sexy, Ana," Christian whispered against her lips, lightly pinching her nipple through the fabric of her shirt and causing her to keen with pleasure. "I want to see you."

Ana nodded breathlessly. Christian reached down to tug at the hem of her shirt, and pulled it up over her head, revealing her black satin bra underneath. His heart raced as Ana reached behind her to unhook it, and after a moment she slipped the straps off her shoulders and tossed the bra aside.

_Fuck, she's beautiful._

"Your turn," Ana smiled, laying back on the comforter with her breasts fully exposed. Christian grinned wolfishly down at her.

"As you wish, my lady," he said, pressing another kiss to her lips before sitting up and pulling his shirt up over his head, revealing his bare chest. Ana bit her lip as her eyes raked over his naked torso.

"Like what you see baby?" Christian growled, leaning down to nip at the skin of her perfect breasts. Ana whimpered.

"Yes," she whispered. "Don't stop."

Christian continued to kiss and nip at her breasts, and Ana's hands roamed up and down his back. Christian was surprised he didn't feel any pain or fear with her hands on him, but then again, Ana was different to him in so many ways. He felt almost excited at the prospect of her touching him.

"I'm ready Christian," Ana whimpered. "Right now. Please."

Christian swallowed. "Then get ready baby," he whispered. He reached down to grasp the waistband of her pants, slowly unbuttoning them before beginning to drag them down her smooth legs along with her black lace panties. She now lay on the bed completely naked, and Christian couldn't take his eyes off of her.

_She's a goddess._

"Are you just going to sit there and stare at me?" Ana smiled coquettishly up at him.

"Would that be a problem, Ms. Steele?" Christian grinned at her. "You are quite nice to sit and stare at."

Ana giggled. "Well, why don't you get naked too, Mr. Grey?"

"With pleasure," Christian smirked, standing up and pulling his pants down his legs. He had worn sweatpants today, so they slid off easily - he was soon naked along with Ana, and he crawled onto the bed so he was on top of her once again.

"Condom," Ana whispered as Christian's lips skimmed along her neck and jaw.

Christian almost never used condoms, but thankfully he remembered he had some stored away in his bedside cabinet. He quickly reached over to pull the drawer out, digging around until he found the small square package.

_Bingo_

With deft fingers he opened the condom and slid it on, the anticipation of what was about to happen making his heart thrum. So many emotions racketed around inside of his mind… somehow, deep down, he knew that what he and Ana were about to do was nothing he'd ever experienced before. His feelings for her went deeper than he'd ever previously realized, and he now knew he wanted nothing more than to show her how he truly felt about her.

Christian moved on top of her, and Ana opened her legs so his dick could line up with her center. "This is going to hurt for a few seconds, baby," he whispered in her ear, lacing his fingers with hers and pressing her hands above her head. Ana nodded in understanding.

With a gentle squeeze of her hands, Christian pushed himself inside of her, feeling her tight pussy clench around him. He broke through Ana's virginity, and she gasped at the pain, causing him to still inside of her. After a few moments she began to relax, and she nodded for Christian to continue.

Christian pulled out slowly before pushing back in again, the pleasure of fucking her tight perfect pussy almost bringing him to climax already. He knew he wanted Ana's first time to be pleasurable, and he didn't want it to end too quickly, so he held off his own orgasm as he continued to make love to her.

_Make love._ Christian had never made love before, but somehow he knew this was what was happening right now with Ana.

There were no whips, no chains, and no floggers - it was just them.

Vanilla.

And it was fucking amazing.

"_Ohhh_," Ana moaned, throwing her head back as she gripped Christian's hands tighter, their fingers still laced together above her head. "Oh my God Christian, I'm so close."

With a growl, Christian let go of one of her hands, reached between them and began rubbing her clit. Ana arched her back in pleasure.

"Oh God," she cried out, shuddering. "Oh shit!"

"Come for me, Ana," Christian growled, feeling himself getting closer to the finish line as he continued to fuck her while rubbing her clit.

Ana froze for a split second before crying out in pleasure, her whole body shaking and quivering in the throes of her orgasm. Christian pumped into her a few more times before finally stilling, coming with a growl and a deep shudder.

The two of them slowly came down from their orgasms, panting heavily as they tried to catch their breath. A feeling Christian never had before began filling his chest, and he couldn't resist leaning down press his lips to Ana's in a sweet kiss that felt almost grateful. Ana kissed him back, silently conveying that she knew exactly how he felt, because she felt the same way too.

And nothing could ever feel better than this.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you all enjoyed that! Next chapter, Ana gets some new information.**

**Please review! And be sure to follow me on Facebook (Straw Paj) for chapter updates and pictures.**


	16. Invasion

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

**Chapter 16: Invasion**

_Soft… warm… content… _

Christian slowly roused from his sleep. In addition to everything he was feeling, another strong emotion penetrated his heart when he realized Ana was sleeping soundly beside him, the two of them cuddled up together comfortably. They had fallen asleep very late last night, not bothering to get dressed as they spooned underneath Christian's warm down comforter. Christian had never been much of a cuddler, but with Ana he felt he could get used to this, especially since her hands on him didn't seem to bother him too much.

With last night being Ana's first time - as well as Christian's first foray into vanilla - this felt like the perfect place for them to be: falling asleep together in his bed, holding one another in a tight loving embrace.

The sky outside was still dark, and Christian idly wondered why he had woken up at this early hour when he suddenly heard the muffled ringing and vibration of a cell phone.

Christian slipped his arm off of Ana as he rolled over and propped himself up on his elbows, gazing around the dark room trying to figure out where the ringing came from. The phone rang again, and Christian realized it was coming from Ana's discarded pants that had been tossed onto the floor last night.

_Someone's calling her at this hour?_

"Ana," Christian whispered, moving over to gently place a hand on Ana's arm. "Ana, I think your phone's ringing."

Ana mumbled something incoherently before slowly waking up, her mussed-up bedhead and sleepy expression making her look adorable. "Mm… what's happening?"

"Your phone's ringing, baby," Christian explained. "I think it's over there on the floor."

Ana rubbed her eyes and frowned before sitting up straight. The phone rang again, and she got to her feet, heading over to where her pants were laying on the floor. She was still completely naked, but didn't seem to notice as she knelt down on the floor to pick up her phone.

"It's Kate," Ana said, staring blearily at the glowing screen of her phone with a frown on her face. She hit Answer before bringing her phone up to her ear. "Kate? Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"_Ana! Where are you? I've been calling for like fifteen minutes!"_ Kate's shrill voice could be heard quite clearly throughout the silent bedroom. "_Why aren't you at the apartment? I've been worried sick!"_

"I'm fine, Kate. I promise," Ana said assuredly, getting up and walking over to the nearby chaise lounge where Christian had tossed one of his button-down shirts. She picked it up with one hand and slipped it on to cover her nakedness. "I'll be back later this morning. Honestly, does this warrant a call at 4:30 in the morning?"

Christian glanced over at his bedside clock, and sure enough the digital readout said 4:32am.

"_This isn't funny, Ana! Reggie and I came back from our date and we were expecting you to be in bed, but instead you're nowhere to be found. The whole apartment's been ransacked!"_

Ana froze. "What?"

"_We were robbed!"_ Kate shouted, and Christian could hear other people chattering in the background. "_Reggie called the police, and now a bunch of cops are surrounding our building. I've been talking to the police officers trying to figure out what's been taken, and since you weren't here I thought something bad must've happened to you!"_

"Oh my God," Ana said, alarmed. Christian sat up completely and pulled the blankets off of him, searching the floor for his boxer briefs. "Do you know what's been taken yet?"

"_Not yet, but we're trying to figure it out,"_ Kate said. "_Where the hell are you?" _

Ana avoided that question. "I can be there in twenty minutes. I'll let you know."

"_Okay."_

Ana hung up as she began searching the floor for her discarded clothes. Christian, with his boxer briefs on, got up and turned on a nearby lamp.

"I have to go," Ana said distractedly, picking up her panties and slipping them on. "Apparently our place has been robbed."

"I heard," Christian said, walking toward her. "Ana, it's Jack. It has to be."

"Why on earth would he rob my apartment?" Ana asked distractedly, taking off Christian's button-down before slipping her bra on and picking up her own shirt. "That makes no sense."

"It can't be a coincidence," Christian insisted. "We know something weird is going on with Hyde, and now suddenly your apartment gets ransacked while you're away? He's connected to this, I know it."

"You might be right," Ana said in a distressed voice, pulling on her pants. "But what else am I supposed to do? I have to meet up with Kate and see if anything's been stolen."

"You can't go by yourself," Christian said firmly, finding his own pants and pulling them on. "I'm coming with you."

"No you're not," Ana insisted, turning toward him. "There are going to be tons of cops there, Christian. It's not safe for you."

"I don't care," Christian snapped angrily. "It won't be safe for either of us, but I'm not letting you go by yourself."

"Taylor can come with me," Ana said, clearly trying to appease him. "And we can call Sawyer so he'll meet us there. I'll be perfectly safe without you, I promise Christian."

Christian still looked rather upset, and Ana walked up to him before slipping her arms around his waist. "It'll be okay. I won't stay for too long, and I'll be sure to text you once I'm there. I just don't want you to go there and risk getting in trouble with the cops, especially if they're all friends with Jack."

Christian let out a distressed sigh before pulling Ana into his arms, holding her tighter. "Promise me you'll stay with someone the whole time," he insisted, pressing his lips to her hair. "And call me immediately if you feel like something's off. I hate not being able to come with you."

"I'll be safe," Ana promised, pulling back to look up at him. "And I promise I won't stay there for too long. I'll come back here as soon as I can."

"You better," Christian said firmly, and Ana couldn't help but smile. She pushed herself up on her toes and pressed her lips against his. Christian immediately kissed her back, conveying his feelings for her the only way he could.

He hoped she wouldn't leave him in suspense for too long.

* * *

Blue and red flashing police lights practically blinded Ana as Taylor turned the car onto the street where her apartment building was. About five or six squad cars were parked along the street, with about half a dozen police officers milling around the area, checking the building perimeter or talking on their radios.

"Do you see your roommate anywhere?" Taylor asked, parking a short distance away. Ana squinted through the darkness and the flashing lights.

"I think that's her," she said, pointing ahead at a figure with blonde hair standing near a police car.

"I'll wait here and keep an eye on things," Taylor said, gazing out the front window toward the scene before them. "If you need anything, just let me know."

"Is Sawyer here yet?" Ana asked.

"He texted me saying he would be here when you and I arrived," Taylor explained. "He should be around here somewhere."

"Alright," Ana said, unbuckling her seatbelt. "See you in a bit."

Ana stepped out of the car, and headed over to where Kate was. The flashing lights and hubbub of people around her was louder than she initially thought, and she wondered if the neighbors had been woken up by all this.

Kate looked up as Ana approached, and her whole face lit up. "Ana," she grinned widely, and she rushed over before pulling her into a crushing hug. "I'm so glad you're here! Are you okay?"

"Of course I'm okay," Ana said, pulling away. "Are _you _okay? Do the police know what's been stolen from our apartment yet?"

"They're taking inventory of everything right now," Kate said, grabbing Ana's hand and pulling her toward the front door of their building. "Come on, I'll show you."

"Is it safe?" Ana asked nervously, her mind immediately straying to Jack. Could he still be in the area?

"Of course it is. The cops haven't found anything incriminating yet," Kate explained, skirting around the police tape and dragging Ana through the building's front door. "Everything is just kind of tossed around."

They entered through their open apartment door, which was crooked on its hinges, as if someone had forced their way in. Sure enough, the entire living room was trashed - all their shelves, tables, papers, books, and knick knacks had been tossed around the place, covering the whole floor. Two female police officers were standing in the kitchen and talking with one another, one of them scribbling something down on a notepad.

"Oh my God," Ana murmured, gazing around at everything with a shocked look on her face.

"It's like this in both of our rooms," Kate grimaced sadly, glancing around the place too. "I can't tell if anything's been taken yet, but my room doesn't seem to have anything missing. I'm not sure about your room though."

"Ms. Steele?"

One of the officers approached them, a Hispanic woman with her hair in a tight bun. "I'm Officer Ramirez. Have you been updated on the situation?"

"Oh, you mean that our apartment's been ransacked?" Kate said sarcastically. "Yeah I think she knows."

Officer Ramirez ignored her. "If you don't mind, Ms. Steele, could you take a look around the apartment and see if anything of yours is missing? If this really was a robbery, we need to be able to identify anything that might have been stolen."

"Of course," Ana said, looking around at the mess on the floor. "I'll go check in my room."

"I'm going to go check on Reggie," Kate said to Ana. "He's been talking to a police officer for the past twenty minutes or so. Let me know if you need anything."

"Alright," Ana said, and Kate turned and walked back out of the apartment as Ana headed into her bedroom.

Everything here was in disarray too. Her bookshelves had been pushed over and their contents strewn everywhere, her mattress and box spring had been pushed off of the frame, and the shirts hanging in her closet had been tossed everywhere. Ana felt sick gazing at everything - it was so violating, having someone come into her room without her knowledge and destroy all of her things.

And if this was Jack's doing, like she suspected, then there was more to worry about than just some missing items or broken bookshelves.

Ana sifted through her ravaged bedroom, trying to see if anything had been taken, but it appeared as if everything was still here. Even her laptop and television remained intact, though both were currently on the floor along with everything else. This was going to be a pain to clean up, that was for sure…

"Detective Sawyer. I didn't know you were working tonight."

Ana froze when she heard Officer Ramirez speak from the other room.

"I'm not, actually. Ms. Steele is a friend of mine, and when I found out she was robbed I wanted to make sure everything was alright."

Ana walked out of her room and into the living room, immediately noticing Sawyer standing in the doorway while Ramirez and her partner still stood near the kitchen. Ana couldn't help but feel a tad relieved.

"Sawyer," she said, and he looked at her before smiling in relief.

"Ana. Are you alright?" he asked concernedly, approaching her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just checking my room to make sure nothing was stolen," Ana said, turning around and heading back into her room; Sawyer followed her, and once they were out of earshot from the others, Ana began to whisper urgently:

"Sawyer, this was Jack. It has to be," she said quietly, glancing out the door with a nervous expression on her face. "Have you heard anything?"

"Not yet, but I think you might be right that this was likely Hyde's doing," Sawyer said in a low voice, glancing at the mess around the room. "But the question is why would he do something like this…"

"He was acting so strangely at work yesterday," Ana said, shaking her head. "It's like he's going unhinged or something."

"From what I can tell about Hyde, he's a smart guy," Sawyer said. "An evil sociopath, yeah, but still smart enough not to show his hand. It doesn't seem like causing random chaos and destruction is his MO. If he did do this, what's his angle?"

"If anything, it's to try to freak me out," Ana said. "I'm not going to let him get in my head, though. Thank God I was at Escala tonight, and Kate was out on a date. I don't want to think about what Jack would have done to either of us if we were here tonight."

"Don't try to dwell on it," Sawyer said, placing a comforting hand on Ana's shoulder. "Have you given a statement to Officer Ramirez yet?"

Ana shook her head. "No."

"Go and do that, but don't mention our suspicions about Jack. There's no evidence tying him to this yet, and I'm still trying to get the guys over at the FBI to take a look at his file."

Ana nodded. "Alright. I hate having to deal with this, but I suppose there's not much I can do about it yet."

Sawyer smirked. "That's the spirit," he said, and Ana gave a humorless chuckle. "Come on, let's go."

* * *

Ana and Sawyer spoke to Officer Ramirez for the next twenty minutes or so, neither of them mentioning Jack Hyde or the Elena Lincoln murder case. Ana hadn't been able to find anything missing, and since Kate hadn't been able to find anything missing either, Ramirez had to classify this crime as trespassing and vandalism: a minor offense that unfortunately didn't convey the seriousness of the situation.

Sawyer soon headed out of the apartment building to go find Taylor, and Ana followed after him, wanting to go find Kate. She was barely a dozen steps out of the apartment building when someone approached her:

"Ms. Steele?"

Ana turned and saw a female cop approaching her, a windbreaker over her uniform and a police cap on her head. In the darkness Ana couldn't quite make out her face, but her badge glinted in the blue and red lights of a nearby police car.

"Yes?" Ana asked.

"My partner and I found some discarded items over on the west side of the building," she said, pointing behind her toward the far end of the apartment building. "Some clothing, and what looks like a DVD player. Do you mind coming over and identifying them?"

Ana blinked, surprised. She hadn't remembered seeing anything missing, but she supposed there was so much chaos throughout the apartment, something must have slipped past her radar. "Sure."

Ana began to follow her toward the other side of the building, away from the people and the police cars parked along the street. As they moved further from the hubbub, Ana began to feel a bit odd… she remembered Christian's words about not going anywhere alone, and decided to speak up:

"You know, I think I should go grab my roommate Kate," Ana said, gesturing behind her. "She might be able to help identify some of the things you found."

"That won't be necessary, ma'am," the police officer said, barely glancing over her shoulder. She continued to walk forward, and Ana tried to keep up.

"I just really don't want the others to think I went wandering off by myself," Ana insisted. The cop didn't answer as she turned the corner of the building.

"Excuse me?" Ana asked, turning the corner as well.

She stopped. This area was just an empty lot where the dumpsters were stored, and not many people came back here. Ana immediately noticed there was nothing here, and that the female cop was just standing in the shadow of the building, not moving.

Frightened, Ana began to back away, ready to run full speed back to where the others were, but a pair of strong arms suddenly grabbed her from behind and wrapped around her body, pinning her arms to her chest.

Ana let out a scared yelp, instinctively kicking and struggling to free herself from his grasp. Even in her panicked state, she knew exactly what was happening, and her fear increased exponentially as a result.

The female cop walked toward them, and Ana was finally able to see Elizabeth's face in the glint of a flashing police car light. In her hand was a white cloth.

"HELP!" Ana screamed at the top of her lungs, but Elizabeth swiftly moved forward and pressed the cloth roughly over Ana's mouth, muffling her screams.

"Party's over, Miss Steele," Jack's low voice hissed in her ear. The world began to spin, and in a moment everything went black.

* * *

**A/N: Please don't be mad at me :)**

**What do you think is going to happen now? ****Please review and let me know! **

**Be sure to follow me on Facebook for updates and pictures accompanying the chapters. I go by the username Straw Paj :)**


	17. Pursuit

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

**Chapter 17: Pursuit**

"Taylor, there you are."

Sawyer walked up to Taylor, who had exited his SUV and walked over to where the others were.

"Sawyer, have you heard anything?" Taylor asked, gazing at the police cars around them. "Was this for sure Hyde's doing?"

"We're not sure yet, but I don't doubt he had something to do with this," Sawyer frowned. "Is Christian here?"

"Ms. Steele convinced him to stay at Escala," Taylor grimaced. "It was too dangerous for him to come here with so many cops around."

"That was probably a smart move," Sawyer nodded. "Though I can't imagine how Christian must be feeling right now. Is he being updated on the situation?"

"Yeah, I just texted him," Taylor held up the phone in his hand. "He's understandably frustrated there's been no news."

"Tell me about it. I hate not being able to have anyone on the force I can trust enough to bring Hyde's information to," Sawyer frowned, lowering his voice as he glanced around the area. "If we're not careful, this could potentially turn ugly."

"Once the FBI agrees to take a look into Hyde, all this discretion right now will be worth it," Taylor said assuredly. "I'm sure Ms. Steele will appreciate it when this is all over with."

Sawyer looked over his shoulder, gazing through the small crowd of police officers milling around. "Where is Ana? She was right behind me a moment ago."

Taylor looked around too, but he couldn't seem to locate her either. "Shit."

In an instant, the two of them set off into the crowd, calling Ana's name and looking around for any sign of her. The bright flashing police lights accompanied by the night sky and the chatter surrounding them made it difficult to identify anyone, and Sawyer began to feel a bit nervous.

"Miss Kavanagh," Sawyer found her roommate talking to a guy next to a police car. "Have you seen Ana?"

Kate blinked at him in surprise. "Oh it's you," she said, obviously recognizing him. "I think Ana's inside."

Sawyer wasn't sure why Ana would go back inside the apartment, but he thanked Kate before turning to head back into the building.

As he hurried down the pathway toward the building, he saw a female cop wearing a windbreaker and a police cap passing by. "Excuse me, Officer - have you seen Ms. Steele?" he asked.

"No," she said without stopping and without a glance in his direction.

Sawyer stared after her. There was something odd about that woman. He began to follow her. "Excuse me? Officer?"

She didn't turn around, and Sawyer continued to follow her, moving faster to catch up. "Officer, can you stop for a moment? I'd like to see your badge."

Once again she didn't respond, and Sawyer reached out to grab her arm, spinning her around. In the flashing red and blue police lights, he recognized the face of Elizabeth - or rather, Eliza Karovsky.

"You," Sawyer whispered.

Before he could react, Elizabeth suddenly yanked her arm from his grasp and sprinted away toward the street, dodging and pushing aside anyone in her way. Sawyer immediately ran after her, and the others in the area all watched in surprise.

"STOP HER!" Sawyer yelled so the other cops would hear, and he pointed at Elizabeth. "_She's impersonating a cop!_"

In an instant, all the police officers understood the situation, and they began to race toward Elizabeth as she sprinted toward her car, yelling at her to stop.

"Taylor!" Sawyer shouted, stopping and turning around to gaze through the crowd for him. "Taylor, where are you?!"

He didn't see Taylor, but what he did see made his whole body freeze up: in the distance, beyond the police car lights, was the dark figure of a man running toward the street. He carried someone in his arms bridal style, and Sawyer immediately knew it was Ana.

Sawyer didn't know how he knew, but he knew beyond a doubt that that was Ana, and the man carrying her was Hyde.

_Fuck! _

"Hey!" Sawyer shouted, running toward Hyde, which was the opposite direction everyone else was running in. "_Hey, stop_!"

The dark figure that was Hyde ignored him as he reached a car and the trunk popped open. He shoved Ana into it before slamming the door shut.

"STOP!" Sawyer yelled at the top of his lungs, but it was too late - Jack had jumped into the front seat of the car and drove off, tires squealing in his wake. Sawyer reached down for his holster, but realized he had left his gun in his car.

_Shit!_

"Sawyer!" Taylor suddenly ran up to him. "Was that Hyde?"

"Yeah, he took Ana," Sawyer panted, turning left and sprinting toward his car, which was fortunately parked nearby. "I'm going after them."

"I'm coming with you," Taylor insisted, running beside him.

"No, you need to update Christian on what happened," Sawyer said firmly. "He's going to freak out and try to go after Hyde, and you have to keep him in check. I'm going alone."

"I'm not letting you go without backup," Taylor insisted angrily.

"I'll be fine. I've been trained to do stealth missions," Sawyer snapped once they reached his car. "Stay here and call Christian - I'll keep you updated."

"Sawyer!" Taylor shouted, but Sawyer ignored him as he got into his car and turned on the ignition, peeling off in the direction Hyde went.

Sawyer could see Hyde's tail lights in the distance, and he accelerated so he wouldn't lose his quarry. He gripped the steering wheel tightly in his fists, his jaw clenched; anger and guilt burned inside his gut, making him extremely on-edge. He had taken his eyes off Ana for only a few moments, and now she had been kidnapped by the very asshole they were trying to avoid. How could he have been so fucking stupid?

He glanced down at the passenger seat and saw his gun there along with his bulletproof vest. He immediately grabbed the gun and shoved it in his holster, and glanced back over at the vest - clipped to the upper right side was a small black box.

A bodycam.

Sawyer felt relieved to see that he'd remembered to keep one on him. That would definitely come in handy once he got to where Hyde was heading.

* * *

**~Ana~**

For some reason Ana felt too exhausted to open her eyes, her lids heavy like they were made of lead. She was curled up on what felt like a hard surface covered in scratchy material, and the air around her felt hot and stuffy; every so often her body jostled, as if the whole place was moving. Eventually, Ana managed to open one eye, and she saw a dim red light behind her illuminating the inside of the small enclosure she was in.

_A car trunk._

Ana's groggy brain finally registered what was happening, and gradually she began to remember how she had gotten here: she'd been ambushed by Jack and Elizabeth behind her apartment building, Jack grabbed her from behind, and Elizabeth put a cloth to her mouth, causing her to pass out.

_I need to get out of here._

Still weak from the chloroform, Ana tried to raise her arm and search around for the emergency pull tab so she could escape. But the whole car jostled again, and Ana's arm fell back down limply onto her stomach.

Gritting her teeth, she tried lifting her arm again, but the whole car turned sharply, causing her to be knocked back, and suddenly the car came to a stop, jolting her.

Fear suddenly settled in Ana's heart when she heard the car door slam shut and the crunch of footsteps on gravel coming closer. Before she could gather what little strength she had to try to fight her way out, the trunk opened and the silhouette of Jack stood above her against the night sky, the cool air from outside practically hitting her in the face.

In a moment, Jack leaned down and reached for Ana's head, and before she could properly react he had begun to tie an old dirty rag around the lower half of her face so as to muffle her mouth. Ana tried to squirm away, but Jack roughly grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled, causing Ana to whimper in pain.

"Stay still, or I'll start ripping chunks of hair out of your fucking head," Jack growled in a low threatening voice, still with an iron grip on her hair, and Ana froze. She had heard Jack angry before, but this murderer man-handling her sounded almost possessed. Ana knew what Jack was capable of, so she felt keen to follow his instructions. She kept as still as possible while he finished gagging her mouth with the filthy rag.

"Now get out," he hissed, and he let go of her hair so he could grasp her biceps and pull her roughly out of the trunk. Ana landed heavily on the ground, which was a gritty brown-colored gravel.

_Run._

Ana knew she had to try to escape, but she still felt weak from the chloroform, and she couldn't pull herself upright. The next moment, Ana heard the click of a gun being cocked, and her heart froze in her chest.

"_Get up_," Jack hissed, grabbing the back of Ana's shirt and practically yanking her to her feet. He then pushed the gun to her ribs, hurting her to the point where she winced. "Now move."

Reflexively, Ana began to walk forward with slow uneven steps, Jack directing her from behind. Since it was so dark out Ana couldn't see where they were going, but she could tell they were no longer in the city - there was just a large stretch of highway behind them and bare fields surrounding them, and she was able to make out a large outline of a building they were walking toward. Once they got close enough, she detected the stale scent of hay and saw the weathered wood of a large barn door.

Jack pulled it open before shoving Ana inside, causing her to stumble slightly. He then grabbed her arm and pulled her over to a nearby post in the middle of the large empty barn.

"C'mere," Jack growled, pulling her along roughly before pushing her back up against the post. He then brought her arms back behind her so her wrists crossed, and after a moment Ana felt him tying them with something that felt rough and hard.

After he finished tying her up, Jack wordlessly made his way out the door, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and dialing someone. Once he was gone, Ana immediately began to struggle with her bonds - they felt like they were made of hard plastic, and she looked over her shoulder to see multiple zip ties binding her wrists together. Ana fruitlessly tried pulling her arms apart, but they were bound too tightly.

_Shit_.

Ana's mind went to Christian, and she desperately hoped she would get to see him again. Taylor and Sawyer had been in the vicinity when Jack had taken her, so she hoped they had seen something. However, she had no idea how long she had been unconscious, and for all she knew, she had been missing for many hours and they had no idea where she was.

_This is bad._

Ana continued to pull roughly at the zip ties binding her, but they didn't budge. The dirty rag around her head was also tied too tightly, even as she tried to rub the knot against the wooden post she was tied to. The position she was in was awkward, and the wood splintered against the back of her head, but she continued to rub against the post, hoping desperately to get the rag off.

"Nice try bitch."

Ana stiffened before glancing over at the barn door, where Jack reentered. It was dark in here, so she only saw his silhouette, but he reached up above his head and pulled a string, causing a lightbulb to flicker on. It was very bright compared to the darkness Ana had been engulfed in, and she squinted before looking away.

"Do you think I'd be so stupid as to allow you to escape?" Jack went on, walking toward her, but Ana refused to look up at him. "We're too far away from anyone and anything that could possibly help you, Ms. Steele. Though I suppose now that we're inside there's no point to having this anymore."

Jack stepped in front of her and grabbed the dirty rag around her face, yanking it off. Ana was pulled forward by the force of his grab, but the rag was off her face now, and she spit to get the gross taste of it out of her mouth.

Jack didn't say a word as he stood over her, and Ana eventually looked up at him, meeting his eyes. His face was gaunt and pale, and sweat glistened on his forehead as his dark eyes remained fixed on hers.

"…Are you going to kill me?" Ana whispered after a moment. She was at least thankful her voice didn't shake, despite how frightened she was.

Jack let out a low, sinister chuckle. "I would certainly like to, considering the fact you've ruined everything I'd been working toward for years," he said quietly, the danger in his voice making Ana shiver. "But don't worry. I won't kill you… _yet_."

The lilt in his voice made Ana sure he was trying to frighten her, and Ana felt rage build up inside of her body in addition to her fear. "Why not? Are you afraid to murder me like you murdered Elena Lincoln?"

Jack's face fell into an evil scowl, and he immediately grabbed her throat, squeezing it tightly and forcing her chin up. "Don't go around talking about things you couldn't possibly understand," he growled, his mouth inches from her face. "The plan I had put in motion after murdering Elena would have been perfect if you hadn't fucked everything up. Now I have to improvise."

He squeezed one more time before finally letting go of her throat, and Ana coughed and gasped for air.

"Why?" Ana panted after a moment. "Why did you frame Christian? Why do you hate him so much?"

She wanted answers, but mostly she wanted to stall Jack as much as possible so he wouldn't hurt her again. _Or do something worse._

"You really don't know, do you?" Jack sneered. "You thought you could stop me even when you don't know the whole fucking story? You've always been a dumb bitch."

"I was smart enough to figure out what you did," Ana shot back. "And you're terrified I ruined your chance to send Christian to prison."

"Sending Grey to prison was only part of the plan," Jack countered, an angry glint in his eye. "You truly don't know who that man is, do you?"

Ana felt a queasy sensation in her stomach, but quickly pushed it away. "I know that he's innocent," she said firmly. "And you're a murderous psychopath."

"He's a _sadist_," Jack spit out, as if those words were acid on his tongue. "He's a _sick fuck_ who ties up women and beats the shit out of them for his own sexual pleasure, and for years he's presented himself as a respectable public figure while hiding his true self from the rest of the world. But not anymore."

Jack moved over so he was at Ana's left side, his hot breath centimeters away from her ear, causing her to squirm away. "Elena Lincoln was necessary in my plan, Ms. Steele. She's the one who seduced Grey as a teenager, teaching him how to harness his sadistic tendencies into sexually exploiting women. He'd been doing it for years under her guidance, and he'd managed to hide it from the world… until now."

Jack slowly walked behind Ana and came around on her other side, causing her to shiver. "I don't just want Grey arrested, Ms. Steele… I want him to be _humiliated_. Exposed. Ashamed. And Elena Lincoln's death will be the catalyst of the truth coming out into the light, bringing that sadistic asshole the public humiliation he deserves."

Jack finally stepped away, and Ana felt as if her whole body had been turned to stone.

* * *

**A/N: Uh oh… what's going to happen now?**

**Please review! And be sure to follow me on Facebook for chapter updates - I go by the username Straw Paj.**


	18. Retrieve

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

**Chapter 18: Retrieve**

_**Abandoned barn off the 405 near Kenmore. Hyde within sight. Ana tied up but unharmed**_

Sawyer had been able to text Taylor an update after he followed Hyde out to the highway. After about twenty minutes of driving down the 405, Hyde stopped at an old barn, and Sawyer parked his car a quarter mile away while Hyde yanked Ana from the trunk and forced her to walk into the barn by gunpoint. Sawyer then put on his bulletproof vest and made sure his bodycam was activated before getting out of the car and heading toward the barn on foot.

Sawyer had seriously debated with himself the whole drive there whether or not he should call other cops to follow him out here, but eventually decided against it. There was too much at risk, especially since Hyde was in cahoots with a lot of the police officers at the precinct. Sawyer didn't know who he could trust there, and he decided the best mode of action was to get footage of Hyde on his bodycam and prove beyond a doubt he was guilty before calling the police.

_This better not backfire._

Gun in hand, Sawyer moved around the barn, searching for another access point. He managed to find one near the back: a metal gate leading to a stable, clearly meant for the cattle to come in and out of. Sawyer pushed open the gate slightly, careful not to make a sound, and managed to edge his way in, thankful for the hay scattered on the floor muffling his footsteps on the hardwood.

Sawyer tiptoed in and edged his way along the wall separating the stalls from the rest of the barn. He could see the light from a single lightbulb about twenty yards away, and he peeked out from behind the stall door to see Ana up against a wooden post, her hands tied behind it and her head hanging down. Hyde stood to the side, staring at her as if waiting for her to say something.

"You're lying," Ana finally said in a quiet voice, and Hyde let out a malicious chuckle. Sawyer listened intently.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Hyde sneered. "Did you really think Grey actually cared about anyone but himself? Or that you were helping an innocent man? Your ignorance is laughable."

"Christian is an innocent man," Ana said, still in that subdued voice. "You know nothing about him… what he's like, or what's in his heart."

"Do you want me to repeat what I just told you?" Hyde hissed, moving toward Ana quickly and grabbing her hair at the back of her head, pulling it so her head jolted back. Sawyer gripped his gun tighter. "Your little boyfriend is a sick bastard who beats women for pleasure! What's '_in his heart_' is nothing more than sadistic fantasies of pain and humiliation!"

"_He _never murdered someone," Ana muttered, her teeth grit in pain.

Hyde looked homicidal, and Sawyer felt that Ana was being either incredibly stupid or incredibly brave. Thankfully, Hyde removed his hand from Ana's hair and stepped away, begrudgingly turning around and looking at his phone, which was apparently vibrating with an incoming call.

Sawyer double-checked that his bodycam was on before gripping his gun more tightly in his hand, ensuring he wouldn't hesitate to act the moment Ana's life was in danger.

_I need to get his confession on camera._

Sawyer hated that he wasn't intervening, but he knew he needed to gather as much evidence as possible proving that Hyde had killed Elena. Ana, as terrified as she must have been right now, wasn't in any immediate danger since Hyde clearly didn't want to kill her.

"…What the fuck are you calling me for then? Get out of there!" Hyde had started yelling at the person he was talking to on the phone. He paused as he listened to their response. "Well, it was your own fucking fault for leading them to the hideout, wasn't it? Get out of there, and lead them away somewhere else… I don't care where you go, just don't fucking come here!"

Hyde hung up with an angry huff, and he made his way back over to Ana. Before anything else could happen, however, the audible crunch of footsteps on gravel sounded from beyond the barn door. In an instant, Hyde cocked his gun and pointed it toward the door, ready to shoot at whoever was there. Ana cowered against the post, clearly trying to shrink away from the potential gun fight about to ensue.

There were several lingering moments of silence, everyone waiting for something to happen, when suddenly the barn door burst open and two people rushed into the room, one of them pointing a gun straight at Hyde.

"Don't move," Taylor snapped, gun in hand, as Christian ran up beside him.

Sawyer's face paled and his stomach dropped upon seeing the two of them. "Shit," he hissed to himself.

* * *

**~Ana~**

Ana's heart plummeted in simultaneous relief and horror the moment she saw Christian and Taylor rush into the barn, Taylor with his gun in hand. She met Christian's gaze, and her happiness upon seeing him was unmitigated.

"Christian," Ana sobbed, leaning toward him, but was stopped by the zip ties binding her wrists.

"Ana," Christian made a move toward her, but Jack pointed his gun at him.

"Don't fucking move," Jack growled, and Christian stopped. Jack then walked backward until he was behind the post Ana was tied to, and in a moment she felt his arm snake around her waist and the cool metal of his gun tip press against her temple. Ana whimpered in fear, trying to control her erratic heartbeat and labored breathing.

"I'd hoped you'd find us here," Jack said in a low voice, pushing the tip of his gun to Ana's head hard enough to make her cringe. "Though this is a little sooner than I expected. Make one wrong move and she's dead."

The expression of fear and desperation on Christian's face was apparent. "Please," he said to Jack in a broken voice. "Please don't hurt her."

Jack ignored his request as he clicked his gun, readying it to pull the trigger. Ana began to shake in fear, several tears slipping down her cheeks as she closed her eyes.

_Don't let it end like this._

"The cops are on their way, Hyde," Taylor said, and Ana opened her eyes to see his gun was still steadily pointed at Jack. "Don't do something you might regret."

"You're lying," Jack spat immediately. "No one's coming."

"I'm not lying," Taylor said firmly, still speaking in a calm and steady voice. "The police know you're here, Hyde."

"Bullshit. I have friends on the police force," Jack countered. "If the cops were coming for me, I would know. I haven't heard anything which means you're full of shit. Who the fuck do you think you're dealing with?"

Taylor didn't answer, and Ana felt her stomach twist when she realized he had been bluffing. No police officers were coming for them.

"Shoot me instead," Christian suddenly said, and Ana looked at him. "Ana has nothing to do with this. Please… it's me you want. Put me in her place."

Ana felt her throat lock up. "No, Christian…" she began to say, but was cut off by Jack's malicious laughter.

"Well isn't this sweet?" he taunted, glancing between her and Christian. "No wonder Anastasia here thinks you're such a good guy, Grey. Have you been hitting that all week? I should've known… it's a real shame what I'm about to do to her."

Jack pressed the gun more firmly against Ana's temple, and Christian took half a step forward, looking more desperate than ever. "Please," he said quietly. "Tell me why you're doing this. I don't understand - you and I were in the same foster home as children. Is that really the only reason you're doing this?"

"You really don't fucking get it," Jack snapped angrily, glaring at Christian as if he were the most wretched scum he'd ever laid eyes on. "We weren't just in the same foster home - we were the _same fucking person_! Shitty upbringing, drugged-out single mother who killed herself, and people beating on us like fucking punching bags. But while _you _got to go live with wealthy socialites out on the West coast with silver spoons shoved up their asses, _I_ got tossed into a new foster home of uber-Catholic alcoholics who liked to beat the fear of God into me every chance they got!"

Jack was breathing heavily now, clearly working himself up to spit out the vitriolic resentment he'd built up against Christian over the years.

"My circumstances didn't even matter to you though, did they? I and all the other foster kids who came from shitty circumstances didn't even cross your mind as your kind, loving adoptive parents brought you into the lap of luxury and took you on lavish vacations while feeding you three-course meals and paying your way through prep school. Five years ago I came across an article about you in _Business Insider_, and that was when I started following everything I could find about you. Your company, your business practices, your success… and eventually, I stumbled upon your secret BDSM lifestyle."

Jack gave an evil smile, and Christian's face paled. "Oh yes, I know all about that Mr. Grey. Imagine how I felt when I learned that little bit of information… I was still stuck in Detroit, a struggling telemarketer at a failing agency, while _you_ were out creating a billion-dollar company and gaining the adoration of every schmoozer and shaker in the country. And yet none of them knew the truth of who you really were. The truth that would ruin your pristine reputation and demolish everything you'd ever accomplished, and make you into the lowlife shithead you deserve to be.

"And so I moved to Seattle, started working at a publishing company, and set to work on my plan to take you down. I soon learned your old friend Elena Lincoln was involved in the lifestyle too, and I put two-and-two together that she was the one who had introduced you to it. It took awhile for her to trust me, but she was finally convinced of my good intentions when I showed her a picture of us when we were kids. After that, she opened up to me about you… and she told me _everything_."

"I participated in the BDSM lifestyle," Christian said, staring directly at Jack. Ana couldn't be sure, but it seemed like he was avoiding her gaze. "So what? Thousands of people all over the country participate too. That sort of information going public would likely cause some controversy, sure, but it wouldn't ruin my entire company."

"Which is why I knew I needed to go a step further," Jack went on, unrelenting. "I knew I had to connect you to something far worse than a kinky fetish lifestyle in order to expose your sadism to the world. So I decided to get rid of the one person I knew was linked to the darkest part of your sexual history. Once that was done, everything else would fall into place, and the truth would finally come out into the light."

"You killed Elena," Christian stated, his voice low. "And you used Elizabeth to frame me so the police would investigate, and then the world would know about my past in the lifestyle."

"And it all would have been executed perfectly if not for this nosy little bitch," Jack hissed, his grip on Ana's waist getting tighter. "I had to get creative trying to clean up her fucking mess, but it'll be worth it in the end. I'll just have to kill both of you, and make it look like a murder-suicide." Jack looked over at Taylor before pointing his gun at him. "Make that a double murder-suicide."

"If you shoot, I shoot," Taylor threatened, his own gun still pointed directly at Jack.

"You sure you want to risk precious Annie's life here?" Jack taunted, making sure Ana's body was directly in front of him. "You might want to rethink that strategy."

"And you might want to rethink murdering three people and believing you can actually get away with it," Christian stated.

"I murdered Elena without anyone even suspecting me. And my buddies at the police station will make sure I have an alibi," Jack taunted. "Don't fucking question me, Grey - I know what the fuck I'm doing."

Before Christian could say anything, however, a sound came from the right side of the barn. Everyone turned in that direction, and Ana was shocked to see Sawyer suddenly walk out from behind a wall, a walkie-talkie to his mouth and his other hand holding a gun pointed right at Jack.

"Dispatch, we have a two-oh-seven situation. I'm going to need backup at my location ASAP," Sawyer spoke into his walkie-talkie, his eyes fixed on Jack. "Smile for the camera, Hyde."

Ana looked at Sawyer's chest and noticed a small black box with a red light clipped to his bulletproof vest. She suddenly realized Sawyer had been recording everything on his bodycam, meaning they had irrefutable proof of Jack's crime.

Before Ana could react, Jack suddenly let out a yell of anger, and in an instant he moved away from Ana and aggressively approached Sawyer, his gun pointed directly at him.

_BANG!_

A gunshot suddenly went off, causing Ana to scream and turn away. For a split second, she wasn't sure if she had been shot, but then she heard Jack let out an agonizing scream of pain as he collapsed to the ground several feet away from her, dropping his gun and clutching his knee as it bled profusely.

Taylor, whose gun was smoking slightly, kept it trained on Jack as he stepped closer to him and kicked Jack's gun away.

"Don't fucking move," Taylor demanded, but Jack ignored him as he pulled himself up halfway to try to lunge at Taylor. There was another loud bang, and Jack fell back to the ground with a pained yell, clutching his shoulder as it bled all over the place.

"I warned you," Taylor said, finally bringing his gun down.

Sawyer moved toward Jack, staring down at him writhing on the ground in agony. "Cops are on their way, asshole. Good luck trying to talk your way out of this one."

Christian hurried over to Ana. "Do either of you have a knife?" he asked Taylor and Sawyer, tugging at the hard zip ties binding her wrists together.

"Here," Sawyer walked over to them, pulling a pocket knife out of his front pocket.

Christian took it and began cutting through the zip ties. There were several of them bunched together, and they were all made of tough plastic, but he managed to cut through all of them in about thirty seconds. Once they were off, Ana brought her newly-freed wrists back to her front and rubbed them.

"Ana," Christian gazed at her, a whole plethora of emotions crossing his features - fear, relief, and worry all shining in his gray eyes, and Ana felt herself start to break down.

With a sob, she immediately launched herself into Christian's arms. He held her protectively, bringing a hand up to cup the back of her head, and he pressed his face into the crook of her neck.

"You're okay," he whispered to her comfortingly. "Everything's okay now, baby. It's over."

Ana didn't say anything as she continued to cry into his chest, and in the distance she heard the faint sounds of police sirens coming closer.

* * *

**A/N: And the day is saved! Next chapter, Ana and the others deal with the aftermath.**

**Please review and let me know what you think! Be sure to follow me on Facebook, I go by the username Straw Paj.**


	19. Recovery

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

**Chapter 19: Recovery**

The next twenty minutes or so was a strange cacophony of people shouting and police sirens blaring, and blue and red lights flashed throughout the dark countryside as multiple vehicles pulled in. The sun was finally starting to come up on the eastern horizon, and the sky had lightened to an inky blue color as Ana was brought outside by EMTs to be evaluated. She had glimpsed Taylor, Sawyer, and Christian being ushered away by other paramedics who'd arrived at the scene, and Ana suddenly wished she could go with one of them.

"Are you alright ma'am?" one of the EMTs asked Ana as they stepped outside the barn. She was a young black woman with her hair pulled back in a tight bun, and she gazed at Ana with deep concern.

"I think so," Ana said, looking at the chaos around her. Police cars, ambulances, and even a couple fire trucks surrounded the area, their lights flashing while people in uniforms hurried about.

"Come over here. I need to assess you," the woman said, taking Ana by the arm and guiding her toward the ambulance. Ana didn't fight her on it.

"Here we are," the woman helped Ana step up into the back of the vehicle, where there was a gurney and cot for her to sit on. "My name is Michelle, by the way. Can you tell me your first and last name?"

"Anastasia Steele," Ana said.

Michelle gazed at her sympathetically as she took a seat on the bench across from Ana. "I'm so sorry about what you've been through, Anastasia." She put her stethoscope in her ears before placing the drum against Ana's chest, listening to her heartbeat. "Are you feeling dizzy? Nauseous? Lightheaded?"

"No," Ana said truthfully. "Mostly just sore, and I have a few scrapes on my wrists from when I was tied up."

"I can clean and bandage those up for you in a minute," Michelle promised, pulling off her stethoscope and taking a pen light out of her front pocket. She shined the light in Ana's eyes, checking if her pupils were dilated. "Did you sustain any head injuries while you were in the barn?"

"I don't think so."

Ana suddenly heard a small commotion outside the ambulance she was sitting in. She turned and saw several EMTs running by and pushing a gurney containing Jack, who lay still and supine on the stretcher, his leg and shoulder covered with bloody gauze. Ana kept her eyes trained on him as he was brought into a nearby ambulance.

"Is he dead?" Ana couldn't help but ask, her eyes still on Jack and the other EMTs.

"I'm not sure," Michelle said, following her gaze. "From what I heard, he's in critical condition from the bullet wounds."

"He murdered Elena Lincoln," Ana said without thinking, and she turned to look at Michelle, who stared at her in surprise. "And he did it so he could frame Christian Grey. I found out what he did, and that's why he kidnapped me. He doesn't deserve to be saved."

Michelle looked surprised, and for a moment didn't seem to know what to say. "I know this whole situation must be difficult for you to deal with Ms. Steele, but those kinds of accusations need to be taken up with the police. You should be taken to the emergency room as soon as possible so we can make sure you don't have any internal injuries."

"I don't want to be in the same hospital as him," Ana stated. The last thing she wanted right now was to be in the same building as Jack.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but there's nothing we can do about that," Michelle said apologetically. "He'll likely be inside an operating room in a different part of the hospital and under heavy sedation. We also have security personnel at the hospital to make sure he can't get to you."

Ana wasn't happy she had to go to the same hospital they were going to be treating Jack in. She'd rather they just leave him inside the barn to die a slow and painful death, but understood she didn't really have a choice in the matter. "Fine," she said after a moment. "But he better be shipped straight to a jail cell the second he's out of surgery."

"I'm sure he'll be dealt with properly, ma'am. And if you don't have any major injuries, it's likely you won't have to stay at the hospital too long anyway," Michelle assured her. "A few hours at the most."

_Here's hoping, _Ana thought to herself.

Michelle cleaned and bandaged Ana's scraped wrists before instructing her to buckle in at one of the benches; she then closed the back doors of the ambulance and made her way to the driver's seat. A few more EMTs hopped into the passenger seat before Michelle pulled out of the gravel driveway and onto the road, blaring sirens as she went.

* * *

Somehow the media had gotten a tip about the kidnapping, and that the kidnapper and victim were both being transported to this hospital. Ana could see multiple reporters and photographers through the front window of the ambulance as Michelle slowly pulled into Seattle General Hospital toward the emergency room doors. Once she had parked, it took at least ten minutes for the doctors and orderlies to make sure everything was safe and secure before ushering Ana out of the ambulance and into the hospital amid hordes of shouting reporters.

The emergency room inside the hospital was chaotic as well. Doctors ran around the place shouting medical orders to each other while machines beeped around them. Ana was ushered to a nearby empty bed in a bay separated from the other beds by blue paper curtains; she sat back on the bed, her head propped up by pillows as she watched various people pass by, wondering if Christian was among them.

After a minute, a nurse came by to give Ana an IV drip and to ask her a few standard questions. She then promised to return in a few minutes with a doctor, and gave Ana a clipboard to fill out with her basic information.

Ana began to fill out the form, but her mind was still on Christian. Was he okay? Did he come to the hospital too? Just as Ana was about to get up and go find someone she could ask, she saw Sawyer appear in the crowd and approach the receptionist desk, clearly trying to get some information.

Smiling in relief, Ana made to call out his name, but someone else beat her to it:

"Luke!"

Sawyer turned when he saw a dark-haired man run out of the crowd toward him, throwing his arms around him in a tight embrace. Sawyer smiled as he hugged him back.

"Boyce," Sawyer said in a voice of immense relief, pulling back slightly to press his forehead against his. "I'm so happy you're here."

"I can't believe you pursued a kidnapper by yourself and exchanged gunfire with him! Don't ever scare me like that again," Boyce insisted, still holding his husband tightly.

Ana couldn't help but smile at their little exchange, but before she could get up and go talk to Sawyer, she heard a familiar voice say her name:

"Ana?" Kate ran around the corner, gazing around and stopping every doctor who passed her by. "Are any of you treating Anastasia Steele? Ana! _Ana_?!"

"Kate, I'm right here," Ana said from her bed, and Kate whipped around to look at her. "There's no need to shout."

"Ana!" Kate immediately ran to her and threw her arms around her in a big hug. Ana hugged her back, smiling despite herself. "Oh my God, I can't believe you're okay!" Kate pulled away and held Ana's shoulders at arm's length, looking her over. "You _are_ okay, right? You didn't get hurt at all?"

"No, I'm fine," Ana assured her. "My forearms and wrists got scraped up from how I was tied up, but otherwise I'm alright."

"Holy shit, I can't believe you got _kidnapped_," Kate said in disbelief, shaking her head and perching herself on the edge of the bed. "And right under all of our noses too! I can't imagine how scared you must have been."

Ana grimaced, knowing that she could finally be honest with Kate about what happened. "It was Jack who kidnapped me, Kate."

Kate blinked in surprise. "Jack? You mean your boss, Jack Hyde?"

Ana nodded. "Yeah. I learned a few days ago that Jack had actually been the one behind Elena Lincoln's murder, and he deliberately framed Christian Grey for it. Yesterday he found out what I knew and that I had evidence, so tonight he kidnapped me before trying to kill both me and Christian Grey."

Kate only stared at Ana in surprise. She seemed at a loss for words, which didn't happen very often. "Wow… um… I think you must have hit your head or something, Ana. That sounds completely ridiculous."

Ana frowned, not expecting Kate to respond that way. "But it's true. Why would I lie about that?"

"I mean, your boss being a murderous psychopath?" Kate asked, raising her eyebrows. "I know you never liked the guy, but saying he murdered Elena Lincoln is taking it a bit too far, don't you think? Also you said you had this super-incriminating information about him, but you never even said anything about it to me…"

"It was way too dangerous for me to tell anyone," Ana defended herself. "I couldn't even go to the police with it! The only people I ended up telling was Christian Grey and his personal security. Where do you think I'd been staying at overnight for the past few days?"

Kate was still looking skeptical, even letting out a chuckle while shaking her head. "Okay, now I _know _you've hit your head. You expect me to believe you've been staying at Christian Grey's house for the past few days? That's completely ridic-"

"Ana!"

Ana and Kate both looked up to see Christian and Taylor walk into the emergency room along with a couple EMTs. Taylor had a bandage on his hand while Christian looked mostly unharmed, though his rumpled clothing and pale face was evidence of what he had been through. His eyes lit up the moment he saw Ana, however, and he hurried over to her.

"Christian," Ana couldn't help but grin widely in relief. She didn't know if Christian would be sent here by the paramedics since he technically hadn't been injured, but she was immensely thankful he was here.

Christian pushed his way past several doctors and nurses to get to Ana, and he wrapped his arms around her in an emotional hug. Ana hugged him back, burying her face in his shirt while his woodsy scent invaded her nostrils, making her heart full.

"Oh Ana," Christian pulled back slightly so he could cup her face in his hands, pressing his forehead against hers. "I couldn't find you back at the barn and I got worried, but one of the EMTs said you were brought here. I couldn't get here fast enough."

"I'm okay, I promise," Ana assured him, smiling. "I'm glad you're here."

Christian smiled back, but finally seemed to notice they weren't alone. Kate hadn't moved from her spot on the bed, but she had observed the interaction between Christian and Ana with a dumbfounded expression on her face.

"Christian, this is my roommate Kate," Ana introduced, unable to hide the amusement in her voice. "Kate, this is Christian Grey."

Kate blinked a couple times, staring up at Christian. "Um… yeah, I can see that."

"It's nice to meet you Kate. Do you mind giving me and Ana a minute? I'd like to have a private word with her," Christian said to Kate.

"Um… sure," Kate said after a moment's pause, getting up off the bed. She gave Ana a wide-eyed look before shuffling off somewhere else.

Ana couldn't help but giggle watching Kate leave before turning back to Christian. "As much as I love Kate, it's kind of funny seeing her so speechless."

"I'm sure she'll be okay," Christian said, glancing at her distractedly before turning his attention back to Ana. "But are you okay? I was so worried something else had happened to you."

"I'm fine Christian, I promise," Ana reassured him. "What about you though? I wasn't able to check in with you before I was taken away in the ambulance."

"I'm okay," Christian nodded. "I wasn't injured or anything, I was just focused on making sure you were okay. I don't even know where to begin…" he hesitated, his voice wavering slightly, and he grasped both of her hands in his own. "I'm so sorry about all of this, Ana. I can't even tell you how horrible I feel about what Hyde did to you. It's all my fault…"

"What? No," Ana insisted earnestly. "No Christian, you're not at all responsible for what Jack did - don't even think that! He's completely unstable, and he was going to do something like this at some point no matter what. Don't start blaming yourself for the horrible things he's done."

Christian didn't look very reassured. "But the fact that he and I crossed paths as children was what led him to do all of this. If he had never met me, Elena Lincoln wouldn't have been killed, and you wouldn't have been kidnapped tonight."

"Exactly," Ana said firmly. "That was the _only _reason Jack did any of this: because the two of you were foster children together, and he was jealous of the fact that you were adopted! Jack's completely unhinged, and you are not responsible for his horrible actions."

Christian didn't say anything for a moment, and Ana pulled her hands out of his so she could reach up and cup his face. His eyes met hers, and she stared right back. "What Jack said about you…" she began, and Christian stiffened slightly. "I just want you to know that what he said doesn't change my opinion about you. I know in my heart that you're a good man Christian, and the choices you made in the past don't define who you are. I don't want what Jack said get to you, or make you think I don't still care about you."

"Ana," Christian's eyes were filled with emotion as he brought his hands up to cover hers.

"It's over now," Ana said quietly, still gazing up into his eyes. She felt this was important for him to hear. "Jack's been caught, and he's going to pay for the horrible things he's done. Your name's going to be cleared, and everything's going to be okay now."

Christian lowered his face, and Ana realized he was fighting off tears. Without thinking, Ana pulled him into her arms, and Christian immediately hugged her tightly back, burying his face in her neck. Ana felt his shoulders shaking slightly as he became overwhelmed with emotion, and Ana felt herself tearing up too as she closed her eyes. Happiness, relief, and about a million other emotions raged around inside her mind, and all she and Christian could do was hold each other as they tried to work through their feelings.

The future was unknown, but whatever was going to happen, they could take comfort that the worst was over now.

Ana and Christian were still embracing when they heard a rapid clicking sound from nearby. They both looked up and saw a photographer standing several feet away, holding a large black camera up to his face, the lens pointed straight at Christian and Ana.

"Hey, you're not supposed to be in here!" a nearby nurse shouted at the photographer. "Get out!"

Immediately, the photographer bolted out of there, and Christian and Ana watched him leave before glancing at each other. He had gotten pictures of them, but there wasn't anything either of them could do about it. This story of Jack and the kidnapping was likely going to be all over the news later today anyway, so it wasn't worth it to track him down.

Wordlessly, Christian leaned down to kiss Ana sweetly on the lips, and Ana smiled as she kissed him back. After a few moments he pulled away to wrap his arms around her again in a tight embrace, conveying all the emotions he currently felt. Ana felt it too, and she could only hug Christian back, knowing in her heart that everything would be getting better soon.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you all for reading! Next chapter, Christian and Ana have a talk and some decisions are made.**

**Please review and tell me what you think! :)**


	20. Healing

**A/N: Thank you all for the lovely reviews! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

**Chapter: I own nothing.**

* * *

**Chapter 20: Healing**

~The next day~

An empty podium with several microphones attached to it stood at the front of the large conference room as dozens of reporters and photographers sat waiting for the press conference to begin. The whole place was filled with a low murmur of people talking, everyone buzzing and curious about what the Seattle police department had to say about this kidnapping case that had gripped everyone since last night. There were rumors circulating that it could have been connected with the Elena Lincoln murder case, though no one was quite sure how yet.

Finally, after several long minutes of waiting, Luke Sawyer stepped into the room and walked toward the front, several people trailing in after him. A hush sounded throughout the crowd as multiple cameras clicked and flashed, snapping his picture as he stepped in front of the podium, and the various men and women in uniform lined up behind him.

"Good morning everyone," Sawyer greeted the crowd as cameras around him continued to flash and click noisily. He pulled some notecards out of his back pocket and placed them on the podium, clearing his throat before reading. "I would like to thank you all for being here today. My name is Luke Sawyer, Special Agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. These past few weeks I've been working alongside the Seattle Police Department in investigating the Elena Lincoln homicide case. Today, I am happy to report that the man we believe to have been behind that murder has been caught and is currently in police custody.

"The man's name is Jack Frederick Hyde, a 30-year-old male resident of Seattle, Washington, and our investigative team has compiled hard evidence tying him to the murder of Elena Lincoln.

"Unfortunately, our way of finding this man ended up coming at the expense of an innocent woman being kidnapped. Yesterday at around 5:02AM, a 22-year-old woman, who shall remain anonymous, was taken by Hyde in front of her apartment building. She was knocked out and taken to an abandoned barn off the 405 right outside of Kenmore, where she was held captive for over an hour before she was rescued. Hyde has since been apprehended, and the woman in question is thankfully now safe, not having sustained any major injuries from what occurred. Hyde ended up sustaining multiple gunshot wounds, one in his left knee and one in his left shoulder. He was transported to Seattle General Hospital where he was treated, and he is currently in stable condition. He is expected to be transported to King County Detention Center sometime later this afternoon."

"Much of this case is still under investigation, meaning a lot of information can't be made public quite yet. That being said, I'd now like to open the floor to any questions you may have."

Instantly, all the reporters got to their feet and began shouting questions at Sawyer, waving their hands to get noticed. Sawyer pointed at one woman standing in the front.

"Yes?" he asked her.

"What evidence do you have connecting this kidnapping to the murder of Elena Lincoln?" She asked the question clearly on everyone's mind.

"As I stated before, a lot of this case is still under investigation, and to protect the rights of the young woman in question, I can't say too much about what happened to her. However, I can reveal that she knew information about the Elena Lincoln murder case that could have implicated Hyde, and we believe the kidnapping was in direct relation to that."

Reporters began shouting questions again, and Sawyer pointed to a man in the back. "Yes?"

"Did the woman's information have to do with Christian Grey?"

"We can't reveal that at this moment," Sawyer said firmly. "As far as our investigators can tell, Christian Grey's involvement in the homicide is likely nonexistent."

Reporters all shouted their questions again when a young woman yelled above the ruckus: "Then how did Christian Grey's DNA end up at the scene of the crime?" she asked boldly.

"Details like that still can't be revealed to the public," Sawyer stated. "That being said, our team has speculated that Jack Hyde's intention was to frame Christian Grey for Elena Lincoln's murder, and he likely took measures to make it look like Mr. Grey was somehow involved."

That information seemed to set everyone off, as the volume in the room got much louder, reporters shouting over each other even more as cameras flashed and clicked with greater frequency.

"Did Jack Hyde work alone?" a male reporter shouted from the back.

"We believe he did not," Sawyer answered. "His accomplice was another resident of Seattle, a young woman named Eliza Karovsky, though she allegedly went by several false names as she and Hyde went about their plan. Karovsky is currently in police custody and has admitted to the crimes she and Hyde have committed."

"How was Eliza Karovsky able to hide her identity so well?" a female reporter piped up.

Sawyer hesitated a moment or two before answering. "Ms. Karovsky previously worked as a private investigator for the Seattle Police Department, but was let go several years ago."

This immediately piqued the crowd's interest, and everyone immediately began shouting questions over each other:

_"Can you elaborate on that Mr. Sawyer?"_

_"Are you saying the police were involved in this?"_

_"Was this a cover-up by the police Mr. Sawyer?"_

A man in a suit suddenly approached the podium, edging past Sawyer so he could speak into the microphones. "There'll be no further questions. Thank you all for coming."

The man ignored the continued shouting from the reporters and the flash of cameras as he ushered Sawyer toward a side door leading out of the room. The officers that were lined up behind him stepped forward to ensure the raucous crowd was kept at bay.

"I told you to keep that information quiet," the man muttered firmly.

"They had a right to know there was possible police corruption involved in this case, Merton," Sawyer muttered back. "Their taxes are paying your salary, after all."

"We weren't going to hide the information, but we were hoping to reveal it once we had a better handle on everything," Merton argued back. "Now those reporters are going to peddle all sorts of exaggerated stories about our department."

"Forgive me if I don't feel bad for you," Sawyer said coldly, stopping in the middle of the empty hallway to face Merton. "Elena Lincoln wouldn't have gotten murdered, Christian Grey wouldn't have gotten framed, and Anastasia Steele wouldn't have been kidnapped if you guys had been a bit more discerning about the cops you hired."

Merton tried to argue, but Sawyer had simply turned and walked away, not wanting to listen to whatever excuses he had.

* * *

Sure enough, over the next few days Seattle was inundated with news about Jack Hyde and the Elena Lincoln murder case. People were immediately shocked and skeptical about it, considering the fact that for weeks the evidence had pointed toward Christian Grey being the murderer. Every local journalist wrote about the press conference Sawyer held where he mentioned the possible police corruption in this case, and people were clearly starting to come around to the idea that Christian Grey had been set up. The one thing that really drove home his innocence in the eyes of the public, however, was the photo.

Within forty-eight hours, everybody in the Seattle area had seen the picture of Christian Grey embracing a pretty girl in an emergency room, his face buried in her neck while deep sadness and vulnerability wracked his whole body. The picture had been featured in a _Seattle Nooz_ article and spread like wildfire to other outlets soon after - with Christian's guilt now under question, seeing this image of a clearly sad and tortured man made the public's sympathy for him immediately go up. The conversation soon shifted from Christian Grey being a murderer to how public hate mobs could have such harmful ramifications on innocent people.

Finally, it seemed as if Christian's reputation was coming back from the low point it had been at for weeks now.

Luckily, nobody was able to figure out who Ana was through the picture, though many people speculated Christian Grey had a secret girlfriend or something. The fact that she had been the one kidnapped by Jack Hyde was also kept from the public, so nobody drew any conclusions based on that information. The only people who knew the truth were the police and the upper-level managers over at SIP, who had to learn the hard way about Jack Hyde's depravity.

Ana was currently on paid leave, obviously not having a job to go back to anymore. Jerry Roach and the other SIP bosses were desperately trying to keep Ana from suing the company, which she knew she had every right to do. Christian's father Carrick was handling all the legal issues regarding SIP, which Ana was fine with. More than anything, she just wanted to be able to put this whole nightmare behind her.

Ana had been staying at Escala with Christian for the past few days, both of them just trying to heal and move on from what happened. Her dad Ray had actually come by to visit yesterday when he learned about what had happened; Ana was delighted to see her dad, but it was a bit awkward when he and Christian met for the first time. Ana and Christian hadn't really defined their relationship yet, and thankfully Ray didn't ask, but he and Christian were still able to make polite small talk with each other while he was here.

~/~

The next morning, Ana made her way downstairs to the kitchen. Christian was already up and working out in his fitness room, so Ana decided not to bother him as she went to go fix them both some breakfast. Ray had already left for Montesano last night, and Christian had given Gail and Taylor the week off, meaning Ana was all alone this morning.

Ana walked into the kitchen, and smiled in amusement when she noticed that Gail had already come by and baked some blueberry muffins, which she had been doing every morning for the past couple days now. Ana went over to the coffee machine and started to brew some coffee before picking up a muffin and making her way over to the breakfast counter where today's newspaper sat.

Unrolling it, Ana couldn't help but smile slightly when she saw the front page - it was the now-famous picture of her and Christian embracing at the hospital, with the headline:

_AN INNOCENT MAN - HOW A SEATTLE BILLIONAIRE WAS FALSELY ACCUSED OF MURDER_

Ana skimmed over the article, where it went in-depth about how Jack Hyde was able to frame Christian for Elena Lincoln's murder, and how easy it was for the public to believe Christian was guilty. Ana read the article for about five minutes before she heard Christian coming down the hallway toward the kitchen.

"Hey," Christian smiled when he saw Ana. He had clearly just showered, with his copper hair still damp, and he was looking good in jeans and a black long-sleeve t-shirt. "Something smells good. Did Gail bake muffins again?"

"Yup," Ana said, glancing over at the counter. "I'm brewing coffee too, if you want some."

"Sure, thank you," Christian said. He walked over to where Ana sat and noticed the article she was reading in the newspaper, obviously spotting the picture. His face fell. "Shit… I didn't realize the _Seattle Times_ was doing a front-page article about me."

"Don't worry, the author of this article is defending you," Ana explained, her eyes skimming over the paper. "He's explaining the whole murder case and talking about the dangers of mob mentality. It really does feel like people are accepting the truth now: that you actually were framed by Jack Hyde."

"It feels strange," Christian admitted, moving over to sit on the stool beside Ana while looking down at the newspaper. "For weeks I thought the public would never see me as an innocent man again. Now the truth has finally come out, and I almost don't know how to feel."

"It's a blessing," Ana assured him. "Innocent people aren't always able to prove their innocence to the world, and the fact that you were able to prove it makes you very lucky. I really do feel that you can come back from this now."

"I wouldn't have been able to do it without you," Christian said, smiling up at Ana. "Not only did you bring me those emails implicating Hyde, but that picture of us at the hospital is what made everyone start realizing I was the victim in all of this. I don't know if I can ever repay you for everything you've done for me."

Ana looked into Christian's eyes, a soft smile on her lips as her heart thudded in her chest. "You don't have to repay me, Christian. I was happy to do it."

Christian gazed at her for a moment, clearly mulling over something in his mind. "I was thinking," he said slowly after a moment. "About what we should do after all this winds down…"

Ana's smile faded, suddenly feeling her heart lodge in her throat. She hadn't wanted to think about the future just yet, but deep down she knew she couldn't avoid the issue forever. "I understand. You don't want me hanging around here for too long…"

"No," Christian said quickly. "No, that's not what I mean at all. I love having you here Ana, really. I just… I want to make sure you're okay. Being here with me, that is."

Ana blinked, feeling confused. "What do you mean?"

Christian sighed. "What Hyde said to you about me… about my past in BDSM. I can understand if you're not comfortable associating with me anymore because of that."

"Christian, no," Ana said insistently. "What Jack said to me about you was a shock, of course, but I also knew he was extremely angry, and he was just trying to scare me with revealing that information about you. I admit I didn't want to believe it at first, but as I thought about it I realized it was true, and that you'd sort of been trying to tell me about your past for awhile now."

Christian grimaced before nodding. "Yes, and I was so nervous about your reaction I kept trying to put it off or avoid the subject. If I wasn't such a coward, you wouldn't have found out the way you did."

"It's okay Christian, but why would you be so nervous to tell me about your past?" Ana asked, gazing up into his eyes.

"Because I care a lot about what you think of me, Ana," Christian answered sincerely. "The very moment I met you, I knew that you were too good for me, and you deserve so much better than a fuck-up like me who used to participate in the BDSM lifestyle. I guess a part of me wished I could just forget my past and pretend to be normal with you, at least for a little while."

"Stop it Christian. You're not a fuck-up," Ana insisted, frowning at him. "And just because you used to participate in BDSM doesn't mean you're not 'normal'. You're an amazing man, inside and out, and I feel so lucky that I was able to find someone like you, despite the circumstances that brought us together."

Christian looked surprised at her sincerity, and in a moment he had gotten to his feet and captured Ana's lips in a deep kiss, cupping her face with his hands as he slowly pulled her to her feet. Ana smiled against him, placing her hands gently on his chest as she kissed him back.

After a few blissful moments, Christian slowly pulled away, still cradling Ana's face in his hands as he pressed his forehead against hers, a smile on his handsome face.

"Ana, I've never asked someone this question before," Christian spoke after a moment, and he pulled his hands away from her face so he could place them on her hips. "But I want to ask you… will you be my girlfriend?"

Ana couldn't fight the wide, happy smile blooming across her face. "Really?"

"Yes," Christian smiled. "You make me want to be a better person Ana. I never thought I'd meet someone who would make me want to change, but with all the shit I've been through in the past few weeks - and everything that's going to happen in the coming months with Hyde's trial - I know that I'll be able to get through it all with you by my side."

Ana's smile faded slightly as she remembered Jack, and that his trial was something they still had to deal with. She looked thoughtful for a moment before answering. "I will be your girlfriend, Christian. But on one condition."

"Anything," Christian insisted.

"I want you to tell me about your past," she said firmly. "All of it."

Christian didn't say anything, clearly surprised at her request, so she went on: "You've been pretty tight-lipped about your past, and I do understand why, but what I know about it only came from what Jack told me, and I don't want that to be the only information I have. I want to hear it from you, and I want you to trust that I won't run after you tell me."

Christian had an unreadable expression on his face before he finally nodded. "If that's what you want, Ana, then I'll tell you about my past. I suppose there's no point holding off anymore."

Ana smiled at him reassuringly. "I promise it'll be okay. And once you tell me everything, we can move on with our lives."

Christian took Ana's chin in his hand and lightly kissed her lips, smiling. "I'm holding you to that."

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**A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! The epilogue is coming up next - thank you all so much for reading :)**

**Please review and tell me what you think!**


	21. Aftermath

**A/N: Thank you all so much for reading my story! I hope you enjoy the epilogue.**

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**Epilogue: Aftermath**

**~9 months later~**

"I can't believe it's finally over."

Those were the six words Ana whispered to Christian as the two of them were ushered down the wide main corridor of King County courthouse. Carrick led them along, and trailing behind were the rest of the Grey family, including Ray, Taylor, Sawyer, Boyce, and at least half a dozen security guards. They reached the front lobby, where the security guards walked ahead to open the front doors to the courthouse, and they all stepped outside as a group.

Immediately, a crowd of photographers and reporters converged on Christian, Ana, and the others, shouting questions as cameras flashed and reporters tried to shove their microphones toward Christian's face. The security guards who had opened the doors for them had to work to keep everyone away, and Taylor and Sawyer both called orders for the photographers to back off. Christian, who's hand gripped Ana's protectively, managed to walk forward while ignoring the questions being shouted at him:

"_Christian, how do you feel about the verdict?"_

"_Hyde was found guilty of all charges - would you like to comment on that, Mr. Grey?"_

"_What will you do now that the trial's over?"_

Christian had anticipated media coverage of this trial, but now that the verdict had finally been given - where Hyde and Elizabeth both got life in prison with the possibility of parole in 36 years - he still hadn't expected this much chaos. Ana had warned him that there would be a media circus once the verdict was read, and Christian now realized she was absolutely right.

The past nine months of Christian's life were a roller coaster, to say the least. Hyde and Elizabeth both pleaded not guilty on all charges, despite the fact both had been caught red-handed by multiple people, including the police. They claimed that Christian had been the mastermind of this whole operation, and they had all been working together to kill Elena but Christian threw them under the bus at the last minute. It was a flimsy argument at best, especially since several Seattle PD officers had connections to Hyde and were implicated in this case. The trial was pushed off for several months, however, giving the media ample opportunity to speculate what was going to happen.

The police corruption in this case had led investigators to two officers, one of which was a female cop who had been friends with Elizabeth when she worked as a PI. This officer had allowed Elizabeth to illegally go into the Seattle PD's private records and alter Elizabeth Daniels' case file in order to fool Christian into thinking she was someone else. Detective Broderick was the other cop implicated in this case: he had agreed to hold off on investigating the Elena Lincoln murder due to Jack's suggestion, which had led to Sawyer become suspicious of him. Both police officers were fired and brought up on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, and although their trials were still upcoming, Christian and Ana weren't too worried. Those two cops were just pawns in Jack and Elizabeth's grand manipulative scheme, which meant they weren't that important.

Media on both a local and a national scale had latched onto Christian's story of being framed for murder at the hands of a corrupt police force, and for months an endless barrage of news reporters, interviewers, and photographers would hound him for a big scoop. Christian never gave them anything, but he had to fight the urge to physically attack these people whenever they got too close. He and Taylor ended up having to double up on security for both him and Ana so they could go about their lives as normally as possible.

The only reason these past nine months had been even remotely bearable for Christian was because of Anastasia. She had been Christian's rock throughout this whole ordeal, staying involved in all the court proceedings while offering her own insight whenever she could. She had to give her testimony about what had happened the night she was kidnapped, and while that in and of itself was difficult, Jack's lawyer had to cross-examine her, where he basically accused her of making the whole thing up. That more than anything made Christian want to get out of his seat and punch him; however, Ana stuck to her story and didn't get flustered, and Christian couldn't have been prouder of her.

Christian and Ana now moved through the crowd of reporters and got into the backseat of the Escalade Carrick was ushering them into. Christian and Ana sat down beside each other on the wide leather seat before immediately embracing, allowing the happiness of Hyde's guilty verdict finally wash over them.

_It's finally over._

"I love you," Christian murmured in Ana's ear, and she smiled, a tear slipping down her cheek.

"I love you too."

"Break it up, lovebirds," Elliot said in amusement as he and Mia got in the seats facing them. Christian and Ana broke apart. "There's plenty of time to do that over at Mom and Dad's house."

"You know, I thought it had been a bit presumptuous of Grace to plan a celebratory party for after the trial today," Ana smiled. "But now I think a party is definitely in order."

"Everybody knew that Hyde and Elizabeth were going to be found guilty," Boyce pointed out as he and Sawyer slid in the car beside Ana and Christian. "I'm just glad the judge finally reached a verdict and didn't let the case drag out for another nine months."

"You can say that again," Christian said sardonically.

Once everyone was in the car, Taylor got in the driver's seat and began to navigate it down the road, slowly pulling through the crowds of reporters flooding the front of the courthouse. It took almost ten minutes for them to finally pull out into the street, but once they were in the clear, they headed straight for the Grey Estate in Bellevue.

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**~Several hours later~**

"I'd like to propose a toast."

Carrick raised his glass of champagne in the air, and everybody else followed suit, smiling happily at one another. "To my dear son, Christian. He never gave up, even when the odds were stacked against him. Today he beat the justice system, exposed corruption in the Seattle Police Department, and put two dangerous murderous psychopaths in prison. Congratulations!"

The others all echoed "Congratulations" before taking a drink. Everybody currently stood outside on the back deck of the Grey Estate - it was a beautiful sunny day out today, so everyone could enjoy their delicious food and drinks out by the pool. Grace had truly come through with a professionally catered meal and an outdoor bar, and due to the wonderful news Christian and Ana had gotten today, they were all in a great mood as they chatted happily with one another.

"Grace, your home looks amazing," Ana complimented Grace, smiling at the beautiful layout of the estate's backyard. The pool and deck had just been remodeled and looked like something out of a hotel resort, with white patio furniture on a raised marble deck beside steps leading into the large rectangular pool with a cool swim-up bar right at the water's edge.

"Oh thank you dear," Grace smiled. "I'm glad you think so. The renovators took longer than expected for the backyard since we also decided to redesign the rec room too, but I'm glad they finished in time for the party."

"I was actually thinking we'd build a pool and deck for our new place, baby," Christian said, wrapping his arm around Ana's waist and smiling at her.

"I'd like that," Ana grinned back, looking thoughtful. "Were you thinking an indoor or outdoor pool?"

"Doesn't matter to me," Christian shrugged. "We could have one of each."

"That's a bit excessive," she giggled. "I know we bought twelve acres of land, but I want to make sure our house has the essential rooms first."

Ana hadn't anticipated moving in with Christian so soon in their relationship, but her living situation had changed quite suddenly a few months ago when Kate got a new journalism gig down in Portland and moved out before Ana could make other arrangements. Ana couldn't afford to pay rent by herself, so she took up Christian's offer to move in with him at Escala. Neither of them really wanted to stay there long-term, however - considering all the awful stuff that had happened in that apartment - so Christian suggested they have a fresh start and build a new house on Elliott Bay. Ana had initially hesitated to agree to such a commitment, feeling it was too much too soon, but eventually Christian was able to persuade her when he agreed to let her help him pay for the expenses. Since then, the two of them had had a great time planning out their future home together.

"So how's the new house coming?" Carrick now asked, walking up to stand beside Grace. "Has Elliot's crew broken ground yet?"

"Not yet. We're still technically in the design phase," Ana said. "We wanted to wait until after the trial to start building the foundation, and now we can start construction as soon as we finalize our design."

"Hopefully this time next year, we'll be living together in our brand new home," Christian smiled down at Ana, who smiled excitedly back.

"Yes, just you and me… and a Jack Russell terrier puppy named Pongo."

Everyone laughed. "We'll see," Christian joked, sounding skeptical. "Maybe we can get a fish tank."

"I'm so excited for you two," Grace smiled at them. "Building a house together is such an incredible experience! Although it is going to be a lot of time and work. Ana, are you going to take a leave of absence during the construction?"

"I don't think so," Ana shook her head. "Preston-Gates Publishing has been booming lately, and I've been taking on a lot more responsibilities. Every single day it feels like we're expanding our clientele."

While some people may have felt it was sad, Ana didn't feel bad at all that Seattle Independent Publishing had closed their doors forever. Ever since Jack and Elizabeth had been publicly arrested and brought up on murder charges, SIP struggled to stay afloat as they tried to disassociate themselves from those two. However, the pressure and negative media attention ended up being too much for the company, and SIP closed their doors about six months ago, leaving Ana and many others without a job. A couple of the senior-level editors decided to start a new publishing company representing the clients dropped by SIP, and about a dozen other former employees - Ana included - decided to join them in their venture. Ana was brought on as an actual editor this time, not just an assistant, and while it was scary being part of a new start-up, it also felt exciting and made her eager to prove herself.

"Ana's doing an amazing job at her new company," Christian smiled down at her. "I actually want GEH to invest in it, but Ana shoots me down every time I bring it up."

"You've only just re-established yourself as the CEO," Ana chastised. "I don't want the world to think you're using your newfound power and influence to grant favors to your girlfriend."

Everyone laughed as Christian rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Whatever you say, baby."

At that moment, Mia, who had been inside, stepped out onto the patio with a baking sheet of cookies in her hands. "Hey Ana, can you come inside and taste test some of these cookies for me?"

"Sure Mia," Ana smiled.

"Hey I want cookies!" Elliot piped up, but Carrick nudged him in his side, silencing him. "Oh um, yeah… uh… I'll try some later."

Ana was a bit confused by that interaction, but decided to ignore it as she followed Mia inside into the kitchen. Mia had apparently been trying out some new cookie recipes, including a peanut butter macaroon and a chocolate chip cookie with Snickers bar bits in it.

"Oh my God these are _amazing_, Mia," Ana moaned after biting into the chocolate chip Snickers cookie. "Seriously, you're gonna have to keep these away from me."

"Thanks Ana," Mia smiled. "I knew I couldn't go wrong with Snickers. Do you mind helping me plate them up before bringing them outside?"

Ana agreed, and the two of them each filled up a plate of cookies before carrying them back outside onto the deck where the others were.

_What the hell?_

Ana only took a few steps outside before coming to a stop, frowning in confusion. She had expected everyone to still be mingling, but instead they were all standing sentinel by the pool and facing Ana and Mia in a sort of semi-circle: Carrick, Grace, Taylor, Gail, Ray, Sawyer, Boyce, and Elliot were all silent as they stood there, hands folded in front of them and each of them fighting back smiles. As Ana stood there in confusion, Mia silently stepped toward Ana and took the plate of cookies out of her hands, setting them down on a nearby table before moving over to stand by Elliot.

"Guys? What's going on?" Ana asked, glancing at each of them.

Nobody said anything, but Ana saw movement from her left. She looked over and finally noticed Christian walking toward her, holding a beautiful bouquet of white roses.

Ana could only stare at Christian in shock as he walked forward and stood in front of her before handing her the bouquet. She silently accepted it, her heart pounding in her chest when she realized what was happening.

_Oh my God… _

"Ana," Christian said quietly, his eyes shining in sincerity as he slowly got down on one knee. Ana felt her eyes fill up with tears as she brought a hand up to cover her mouth. "I've been waiting for this moment for a long time, and now that the trial is finally over, I wanted to ask you the question I've been dying to ask since the day you agreed to be my girlfriend. Will you marry me?"

He reached into his breast pocket and produced a black velvet ring box, opening it to showcase a beautiful square-cut diamond ring. Tears slid down Ana's face when she saw it, and her heart thudded in her chest as she finally brought her hand away from her mouth.

"Yes of course," she sobbed, her smile threatening to break her face in two.

The others began to clap and cheer, and Elliot gave an appreciative whoop as Christian got to his feet. He slid the ring onto Ana's finger - a perfect fit.

"It's so beautiful," Ana cried, smiling down at it before looking back up at Christian. "I wasn't expecting this today."

"I promised myself I was going to propose to you the day Hyde's guilty verdict was read," Christian explained, taking Ana's hand with a loving smile. "And as it turned out, that day happened to be today. Are you happy?"

"I'm unbelievably happy," Ana grinned up at him. "And now we have two wonderful memories to commemorate this day. I love you so much, Christian."

"I love you too, baby."

Christian smiled again before leaning down and kissing Ana on the lips, and she kissed him back, still holding her beautiful flowers in one hand as her other hand went up to cup Christian's face. The others now congregated around the two lovebirds, cheering happily at the beautiful moment they had witnessed.

It was a perfect end to this perfect day, and one none of them would ever forget.

THE END

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**A/N: Thank you all so much for reading my story up until the very end :) If you enjoyed the epilogue, please leave a review!**


	22. Announcement

**IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT**

**In case you don't already follow me on Facebook, I wanted to let you guys know that I recently moved over to Wattpad! I hope you'll follow me over there - I go by the same username as I do on here, which is StrawberryPajamas. I just started a new original story called In Harm's Way that I hope you guys will take the time to read.**

***Don't worry, I will NOT be removing my current stories from FF. You're free to read those whenever you'd like***

**That being said, I just wanted to let you guys know how amazing you've all been. Thank you all so much for your reviews and support!**

**Love,**

**Straw Paj**


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